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ClassJ3Rl'2S. 

Book J_4 S 

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COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT. 



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Open Pearly 
Gates 



A Treatise on Bible 
Teachings 



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J *»-,«',' 



In Seven Chapters 



By W. T. Lee 

Comanche 
Texas 



.15 



LIBRARY u.i CONGRESS 
Two Captes Received 

MAR II 1904 

Copyright l&ntry 

Du XXc. No, 

corv 8 






COPYRIGHTED 190f U 
BY W. F. LEE 



? «:* •* 



PEEFACE. 

In my daily intercourse with the good and hon- 
est people with whom I associate, and others with 
whom I come in contact, I am led to believe that 
though a great majority of them are sincere in 
their beliefs and desires, and are struggling for 
more spirit light, yet it is very evident from the 
great mass of confused ideas which men have of 
God and of man's duty and responsibility to him, 
that there must be something materially wrong 
in the doctrines, as taught by most spiritual 
leaders, and as accepted by those who have fewer 
opportunities to get correct information. 

Why do I think this? Because, in other things 
where mankind in general are laboring to solve 
any special problem, they gradually come nearer 
"and nearer to the goal, until their efforts are 
crowned with success, for when one truth is found, 
and tested, and proven true, it will be held sacred. 



4 THE OPEN PKARI^Y GATES 

and another added^ and still another, until the en- 
tire problem is correctly solved. 

But in this spiritual problem, which is the most 
sublime of all questions, instead of getting nearer 
together, we, as ceekers after light, are drifting 
apart. 

Look around at the religious world, and see how 
divided in belief, in even what are termed the es- 
sentials to salvation, and how the unbelievers use 
these facts as a club with which to pound the 
religious world, and truly it is effective. 

These, and other things, have led me to con- 
clude that there must be something radically 
wrong in the doctrines, as usually taught, and ac- 
cepted by the orthodox world, and I believe I 
have found the cause, and the result of my inves- 
tigations is set forth in this little volume. 

Will you, dear reader, carefully go over, and 
thoughtfully consider these propositions, or teach- 
ings, and compare them with what is set forth in 
"His Word?^^ If you will, I promise you that you 
will be benefited by having a higher appreciation of 
Deity, a stronger faith in His revealed word, and 
an uplifting in the spirit life, which will richly re- 
pay you for all your time, trouble and expense. 

With a prayer that this work will be a benefit 
to mankind in general, to its readers especially, and 
injure or wrong no one, it is sent forth on its mis- 
sion for truth, unity and love. 

The Author. 



i 



PEOPOSITIOK 

To any one who buys this book^ from either tlie 
author, publisher, or ain,y authorized agent: If, 
after carefully reading the contents of this book, 
YOU do not think you have received information 
that is worth one dollar to you, then return the 
uook to W. T. Lee, Comanche, Texas, and receive 
back your dollar. You are to be the exclusive 
judge as to what it is worth to you, whether any- 
thing or nothing. 

Conditions: To protect myself from tricksters, 
I shall ask, in case the book is returned, that, first, 
it must be in reasonably good condition; that is, 
not abused or torn. Second, that you give name 
of party of whom you bought this book, and ask 
two reliable witnesses to state in your letter on re- 
turning the book that it was purchased as you 
reported. No further requirements will be made, 
and your dollar will be promptly refunded. 
EespectfuUy, 

WILLIAM T. LEE. 



CHAPTER ONE. 

ON GOD. 

Theology is studied from two standpoints^ viz.: 
From the natural and from the revealed. The 
natural is what we see and learn of the ruling 
power of God by a study of the created universe. 
The revealed is the accepted word of God^ and this^ 
to appeal to man^s intelligence^ must of necessity 
harmonize with the natural, because it takes rea- 
son, and a memory, and a capacity to draw conclu- 
sions from the evidences before us, to place the 
evidence and the testimony together in such a way 
as to be convincing that there is a power and in- 
telligence show^n forth in nature, which coincides 
with the power and intelligence, as revealed to us 
by the Word of God. But we believe this to be 
true in every particular, for the revealed word 
says, "The heavens declare the glory of God, and 
the earth sheweth forth His handiwork.^^ Also, 
"There is no speech, no language, where their voice 
cannot be heard.^^ 

Again: Paul said, "For the invisible things of 



ON GOD. 7 

Him are clearly seen^ being perceivable by the 
things which do appear that they may be with- 
out excuse/^ 

Atheism is ^"^an absence of any definite idea of 
God." But we are commanded to "know God.^' 
So if we accept the revealed word we cannot be 
atheistic in knowledge. 

Neither can we be idolaters and be in harmony 
with the teachings of the "Word." But to be idol 
worshippers does not mean simply to bow down 
to an image; any kind of vain worship, or any wor- 
ship which will not profit us in its performance, 
is idolatry. 

Then since we are commanded to know God, 
and since nature does not proclaim any particular 
form for God, we must turn to Revelation for our 
instruction. 

In the 20th chapter of Exodus we learn that 
man "shall not bow down to, nor worship any 
form, neither in heaven nor on earth." 

So we see nature and revelation agree in this, 
that no form has been revealed for man to wor- 
ship; but in Ezekiel it is written: "For every one 
of the house of Israel, or of the strangers that so- 
journ in Israel, which separate himself from me, 
and takes his idol into his heart" * * "I, the 
Lord, will answer him by myself." "I will set my 
face against that man. " "And I will cut him off 
from among my people, and you shall know that 
I am the Lord." 



8 THK OPKN PKARIvY GATES. 

This shows that man can have an idol in his 
heart or mind, just as well as a graven image for 
a God. Consequently, to imagine God to be in 
the form of man, or any other form that man can 
think of, and worship as God, that form is idola- 
try. 

We find as regards the form of God, that He 
is able to to appear in various forms, and is doubt- 
less able to assume any form He might wish to. 
For, to Abraham He appeared in fonn of man, but 
He made Himself known by His power and intel- 
ligence. 

To Moses He appeared as a flame of fire, but 
He made Himself known by not consuming the 
bush, and by speaking intelligently to Moses. 

He appeared to the Israehtes as a pillar of tire 
by night, and a pilla'r of ck)ud by day, but He 
made himself ki^^w^n by intelligently directing all 
their course and movements. To Moses aind sev- 
enty elders His glory appeared as a devouring fire. 

In the Hebrew letter is written, "Our God is a 
consuming fire/' The Savior said He came to send 
a fire on earth, and "What will I, if it already be 
kindled?'' 

We find a description in Revelations of one like 
the son of man (who is Christ), and Christ is the 
express image of the Father, and in this descrip- 
t'on He had on a mantle vv'hich covered all His 
form, which is not here described, in this. His head 
and hair were white as wool, his eyes a flame of 



ON GOD. y 

fire, feet like burnished brass, out of his mouth 
came a two-edged sword, and in his right hand 
seven stars. 

This is sufficient to show that God can and 
does assume varied and different forms, and yet 
no form would represent Him correctly or com- 
pletely. They are forms God projected for special 
purposes. Man also has this power to a limited 
extent, at least. For when man^s body is asleep, 
the mind wanders out and creates many and varied 
forms, sometimes to the projecting of forms not 
seen in nature; but man has not the power to fix 
these forms so that they may appear to the human 
eye. But God, who is more powerful than man. 
caia cause these forms or appearances to be seen 
by the natural eye, (as the appearance of Moses 
and Elias on the mount of transfiguration.) So 
the Scripture is true which says, "No man has 
seen God at any time.^^ 

But man has often seen the demonstration of 
His power and glory. 

Moses saw it in the flame of fire that did not 
consume the bush. Paul saw it when the Lord 
stood by him at night and talked with him. The 
])eople saw it on the day of Pentecost ,where the 
spirit appeared as cloven tongues of fire, and spake 
through the apostles. All men can see a demon- 
stration of His power in the buildings of nature, 
but they can no more see the builder than you can 
Bee the builder of a well arranged dwelling of 



10 THE OPKN PKARI.Y GATKS. 

man^s erection. You see the house^ and admire 
ihe judgment of the builder in the nice arrange- 
ments of the parts of the building^ and in its 
complete and delicate finish and workmanship. 
You know the builder is intelligent and skillful, 
but you see nothing to indicate the builder^s form 
or size, or complexion. Just so it is with the nat- 
ural buildings. The multiplicity of designs and 
forms, the harmonious blending of colors and 
sounds, the exquisite wisdom in arrangements for 
reproduction and preservation, the workmanship 
in the finishing of each atom, or part, and the 
vitalizing power given to all, represent a wisdom 
and intelligence, and power far above, and greater 
than anything man can plan or perform. 

But, some man will say, did not God lead Israel 
out of bondage with a high hand? Yes; God 
brought them out by the hand of Moses, and what- 
ever Moses did, was God^s doing it, for Moses was 
sent by God to do this work, and God gave him 
instructions how to do all that was done. z 

Moses had his brother Aaron given him for a 
mouthpiece, and Moses was to be a God to Aaron; 
that is, Moses was the ruler, and directed Aaron in 
all that he did, thus governing by His spirit. 
' Upon one occasion the Israelites clamored iot a 
king so as to be ruled like the nations around them, 
and when Samuel, the prophet of the Lord, took 
the matter up to inquire of God about what should 
be done, the Lord told Samuel to let them have 



ON GOD. 11 

a king, for in doing that they were not rejecting 
Samuel as their ruler, but that they were rejecting 
the Lord as their king, or ruler. Thus whatever 
the Lord does through His servants is the Lord^s 
doings, not man^s. For man knows nothing only 
as it has been taught liim. Whatever man plans, 
therefore, is in imitation of something God has 
made, or taught him. So even man^s thoughts 
must be in harmony with Grod^s laws, or they will 
be blotted out, to prevent a clash of minds in the 
spirit realm. If man thinks God is in form like 
man, his thoughts are not in harmony with the 
revealed word, for the Lord, through Isaiah, said, 
'^^To whom will you liken, God, or what like- 
ness will you compare unto Him? "Have you 
not heard ?'^ "Have you not known ?^^ "Have 
you not understood from the foundations of the 
eaith?'^ "It is he that sitteth on the circles of the 
earth.^^ This means he sits everywhere on earth. 

The Hebrew name for God was El, or Eloah, 
and means Deity, which is equivalent to shine, or 
make known, and it is in this sense used by Paul 
in 2 Cor.: "Tf our gospel be hid, it is hid to them 
that are perishing, in whom the God of this world 
has blinded the minds of the unbelieving, that the 
light of the gospel of Christ, who is the image of 
God, should not shine upon them; for God said 
light shall shine out of darkness, who shined in 
the hearts of His foUowers.^^ 

This is the God whom Paul said, "had at various 



12 THE OPKN PEARI^Y GATES. 

times^ and in different ways spoken unto the 
fathers by the prophets/^ and "in these last days 
spoken nnto lis by His son/^ 

Let US inquire into the characteristics of this 
God. Since we are commanded to know Him^ and 
since we cannot know Him by a form, there must 
be some peculiarities by which we may know Him. 
When Paul went to Athens he found the people 
worshipping all sorts of idols. They had one 
erected *^^to the unl^nown God/^ and this unknown 
God to them, Paul taught, was the only trae God. 
So he told them that they were superstitious. And 
why? Because they thought they might make an 
image to represent God, and worship that image, 
and that this would be well pleasiHig to God. But 
Paul told them that "God made the world, and 
gave life and breadth to all,^^ and that He was "not 
far from every one of 11 s, for in Him we live, and 
m/ove and have our being.^^ Then He is every- 
where ! Omnipresent. 

John says, God is Spirit. But we cannot sen 
spirit, for after the Savior was raised up. He ap- 
peared to His apostles when they were in a closed 
room, and they thought they had seen a spirit; 
but Christ corrected that impression by telling 
them to feel of Him; that spirit did not have flesh 
and bones like He had. But we can see the work 
ings, or fruits of a spirit, and we judge as to the 
kind of spirit by its fruits. There are two kinde 
of spirits in the world, the good and the bad, but 



ON GOD. 13 

God is said is to be a good spirit, and both nature 
and revelation corroborate this fact. 

Here are the attributes of God^ as taught in 
revelation, and as witnessed b}^ nature. First a 
spirit of wisdom, which enables him to plan and 
devise all things according to His own will, ^s.- 
ture shov/s this wisdom in everything, and every- 
where. Then, in the plan for a new and eternal 
life, we find, as we study this subject, it broadens 
and gets fuller of thought, and grander in its de- 
velopment, until man's wisdomj can reach out no 
farther, and we are ready to exclaim, Wonderful 
art Thou, Lord, m^ost vrise! And this plan is 
all laid out and executed for man's benefit, which 
shows a second spirit quality, or attribute, ^^Love.^^ 
We cannot see love, but, like all other characteris- 
tics of God, we see the effects of its influence man- 
ifested in both the natural and the spiritual life. 
Tn nature God gives the sunshine, the air, the 
i-Toisture, and the food, to nurture and build up each 
and every species of life. The same can be said in 
the spirit realm. For Paul wrote,"The grace of God 
which brings salvation has appeared to all men, 
teaching them to deny ungodliness and live right- 
eously and Godly in this world/^ and to love one 
another by helping, cheering, and comforting each 
other. For He says, "^T^ove works no evil to his 
neighbor.^' Another attribute of Deity is order. 
Every blade of grass of like species is made after 
an adopted, or approved, pattern. Just so in all 



14 THE OPEN PKARIyY GATES. 

animal structures. When you find the make-up of 
one, of any type^ all others of this type will be 
similar. So, also, in the spirit realm. God is 
not a respecter of persons; all must mieasure by 
the same rule; what is required of one will be re- 
quired of each and every one. Then He is a 
God of power. Life is a power given by God to 
all animated nature, to vitalize, build up, and sus- 
tain until the will of God shall have been accom- 
plished by each plant, or being. And the same may 
be said of the spiritual creations, with this differ- 
ence: That in nature God gives the life on con- 
dition of favorable environments, but to the spir- 
itual children it is given on the conditions of a 
knowledge of God, and an acceptance of the con- 
ditions or instructions He gives. And, as the 
life in both the natural and the spiritual comes 
on certain conditions which have been imposed on 
each, under the two separate laws, we can illus- 
trate this easily by taking a seed. To germinate 
this seed and bring forth a plant, there must be 
light, warmth and moisture, or the seed will per- 
ish. Then if its environments have been favorable, 
and a plant comes forth, it must have food, light, 
and air to develop it, or it will also perish before 
reaching perfection. Then God is zealous, persist- 
ent in carrying out His plans, never abandoning 
Plis purpose, nor varying in its fulfillment. He 
is also a God of Patience, giving ample time for 
the perfecting of all things by His will and His 



ON GOD. 15 

law. A God of Judgmeiit^ preserving the good, 
or that which has existed most in harmony with 
His law^ and destroying (this means a reducing 
back to original elements) the evil, or that which 
has not been in harmony with His will; and lastly 
He is a consuming spirit, to drive out and destroy 
the evil, or that which is harmful, both in the nat- 
ural and in the spiritual; because if these were 
allowed to continue to exist they would eventually 
cause confusion and thwart all plans for perfecting 
the things to be desired most, whether in na- 
ture or in thought. These attributes are called 
the seven eyes of the Lord. See Zech. They are 
also called in Eev. the seven Spirits of God. These 
attributes pervade the universe, and rule all things. 
Taken altogether, they are called the Lord (the 
Euler. ) This Spirit, then, that combines all these 
seven attributes, or characteristics, has revealed 
to the intelligence of man, the way for him best 
to live here in this life to be happy, and also given 
a promise of a continuation of life to those who 
obey. The man, therefore, who accepts the teach- 
ings of the Word, and lives by its precepts, reflects 
the glory and image of God. Prov. 20, "^^Even a 
child is known by his doings.^^ 

The followers of God are called the heavens, be- 
cause God dwells in the hearts of His people, and 
this is what David meant when he said, ^^The 
heavens declare the glory of God, and earth show- 
eth forth Hs handiwork.^^ ^'^There is no speech nor 



16 THK OPEN PKARI.Y GATES. 

language, where they cannot be heard/^ Just as 
nature shows forth the handiwork of God^ to all 
tongues and languages^ so His people declare the 
glory of God in all tongues and languages. Thus 
it is ordained that God's people are to declare^ or 
make known His spiritual glory in, thought, word, 
and deed, while nature shows His handiwork in 
everything we see, feel, taste, or smell. 

God's power and presence is unlimited and uni- 
versal, for He creates all things, and controls all 
things according to His will. But man cannot 
create an3^thing; true, he can take of God's ma- 
terial, and change the form or appearance of many 
things. Neither can man destroy anything. He 
simply causes a change to take place. Man will 
take a stone and carve it into an image, or form of 
som.ething God has already made, and his fellow- 
man will join him in worshipping this transformed 
s!:one as though it were a new creation. Again, a 
painter takes colors which he finds already existing 
and coinbines them in such a pleasing way that his 
name is exalted as a great genius. But he has 
only varied and re-arranged colors in a way which 
is intended to imitate something in nature. He 
created nothing. A writer, also, will take of the 
thoughts he has gathered here and there, and ar- 
range them in combinations new to us, and we 
think he is a man of wonderful powers. The ma- 
terial in each and every instance was furnished by 
a superor power. M'an only changes the forms, 



ON godJ 17 

or combinations^ in such a way tiiat we forget the 
real creator and originator of these things, and 
worship some image which is only a poor imitation 
of some other master's workmanship. This is one 
form! of idolatry. 

How many people there are who spend vast for- 
tunes for paintings, sculpture, relics, worthless no- 
tions, etc., all of no real or practical value, only 
to please the eye and give place to vanity, and grat- 
ify worldly lust and ambitions. Instead of racing 
for wealth to squander this way, how much better 
it would be to follow the instructions of the Spirit. 
Think you a man can live thus, in idolatrous rev- 
elings, and see his fellow-man in v/ant, and yet be 
hold blameless, while lie refuses to minister to that 
want, whether it be of food, clothing or comfort ? 

If so, I have not read aright, for man ceases to 
be in union or harinony with God whenever he dis- 
regards the laws of God. For it is written, ^'Hear, 
0, Judah, the Lord is vrith you while you are with 
Him, but if you forsake Him He will forsake 
you.'' 

Is this not a happy thought, that the greatest 
power in the universe is with us, working in our 
natural bodies, and directing our spiritual lives, 
if only we will heed His admonitions? But how 
sad, when we refuse to heed those teachings, to 
know that we have no promise from God that He 
will be our help in time of need. 

So the abode or dwelling place of God is in the 



18 THE OPEN PKARIvY GATES. 

hearts of Kis faithful people^ or followers after 
His spirit law. The Prophet Ezokiel wrote : "He 
said, son of man, this is the place of my throne, 
I will dwell in the midst of Israel/^ Then Matt, 
said, "Heaven is God^s throne.^^ So we see heaven 
is God^s throne, and that is the hearts of His peo- 
ple; for there He rules. Again Paul said, "Do you 
not know that you are the temple of God, and that 
God^s Spirit has His home in you?^^ "H any man 
destroy this temple, him will God destroy.^^ This 
is equivalent to saying every murderer will be 
destroyed, because the murderer destroys the body. 
God^s spiritual throne, then, is in faithful luan, 
where He must rule over the body by wisdom and 
judgment. But in the natural world God rules 
everywhere, and in everything. David expressed 
this thought when he said, "Whither shall I flee 
from Thy presence. If I ascend to heaven. Thou 
art there; if I descend into hell, Thou art there; 
if I take the wings of the morning, even there shall 
Thy hand guide me.^* While the power and pres- 
ence of God is manifested in all things, yet the 
manifestation itself shows that the law of Gofl is 
sometimes interfered with. 

A plant may be trampled under foot and bruised 
so that it cannot mature. Or an animal, by some 
abuse of the laws influencing their lives, may be 
a monstrosity, as is often the case. These do not 
show the perfected handiwork of God, but a per- 
verted law, or an instance of interference with the 



ox GOD 19 

natural law. iSTow^ if plant life and animal life are 
all subject to conditions and environment for their 
perfecting into the ideal which Grod planned^ then, 
I ask^ why is not the spiritual life also subject to 
conditions for a perfect development ? These con- 
ditions are illustrated by God^s dealings with the 
Jewish nation. You will find for every transgres- 
sion there was a punishment inflicted, and as most 
of them were disobedient and unfaithful, the rec- 
ord says they "perished in the wilderness.'^ And 
since God is not a respecter of persons, but is the 
same unchangeable God to-day that He has always 
been, it follows that those who live in harmony 
with His spirit law have the promise of being per- 
fected i'lii the spirit growth and life, and that 
othenvise, "the soul that sins, it shall die.^^ 

The Lord has said through His prophet : "0 
Israel, if thou wouldst hearken unto me ;'^ "There 
shall be no strange God in thee'^ neither shall 
thou Avorship any strange God.^^ Let us see if a 
strange God is not being Avorshipped to-day: A 
God in form like man, whose size, Aveight, complex- 
ion, color of hair, eyes, are all unknoAA^n, who is 
seated soniiewhere, but place unknoAvn, on a throne 
that is indescribable, that has never been seen. 
Turn on the light of reason. If God AA^as in form 
like man, then the very fact of him having an out- 
line Avould limit him, Avhich J? contrary to the 
teachings of the Word, and also to nature. To il- 
lustrate this point, look out to a point where sky 



20 THE OPEN PKARI.Y GATES. 

and earth meet. This line is called the horizon. 
All above this line is sky, and below it is earth. 
So if a man v/as standing at this point of vision 
his feet would be on earth and his head in the 
sky. And this applies to any point on earth's sur- 
face, for the sky is all around the earth. But the 
earth is moving away from its present point in 
space, so that should you be near the imaginary 
throne of God now, in six months' time from this 
you would be one hundred and ninety millions of 
miles aw^ay, ♦because you would be on the opposite 
side of the sun from where you now are. Then 
astronomers tells us that the sun is traveling 
through space at a very rapid xate, so we could 
not compute the distance we would be from a 
throne fixed in space. But suppose this throne 
was traveling with the earth; then what about the 
balance of the universe? Would not some por- 
tions of it be a long way off from headquarters? 
But it is useless to say more about this absurd 
])osition which was founded on ignorance and su- 
perstition, and is kept alive by tradition. Nature 
teaches that God is everywhere, and Isaiah wrote: 
^'This is the covenant that I will make with the 
house of Israel, saith the Lord; I will put my law 
in their inward parts, and in their hearts will I 
write it, and I will be their God, and they shall 
be my people.*' Eevelation teaches of an invisible, 
unchangeable God Spirit, whose characteristics 
are wisdom, order, power, zeal, patience, judgm.enr 



ON GOD 21 

and love. These are called both eyes and spirits^ 
(See Kev. 4:5 and 5:6) and are sent forth into 
all the earth. Christ said^ "By their fruits yoii 
shall know them.^^ If His children manifest a 
spirit characteristic of God;, would they not be like 
him? Well^ that is what Paul said. ''As God is, 
so are ive in this world/' 

Paul wrote, "That a man joined to a harlot is 
one flesh.^^ This we can understand and accept. 
He also said, "He that is joined to the Lord is 
one spirit.'^ Can we not also accept this as true? 
God being a spirit, seeks only the worship of spir- 
its. So to worship God acceptaMy we must have 
the right motive^ and do understandingly as the 
Spirit directs. 

An effort to blend the carnal and the spiritual 
is the cause of many failures to properly under- 
stand the revealed word. But if we keep them 
entirely distinct in making the application of the 
word, then we can understand how, "If any man 
be in Christ, he is a new creature,^^ (or a new cre- 
ation), and hov\^ "old things are passed away, and 
all things have become new.''^ 

The form of man is of the old ; so is death, pain, 
and all the list of hindrances which go with the 
m.ortal. If God was really in the form of man, 
and man to be entirely new had to put off this 
form, then he would be growing different from 
God instead of growing into His image, as we are 
commanded to do. 



22 THE OPKN PEARI^Y GATES. 

Again, suppose we were to ask which type of 
num. represented God. Is it the infant or old age? 
Is it the male or female form; Saxon or Eskimo? 
This is sufficient to cause one to reflect and ask 
liimself the question : How could I know God by 
any form ? 

Paul said, "I hnotv him in whom I have be- 
lieved.'' How did he know Him? Christ, speak- 
ing of spirits, said, "By their fruits you shall 
know them.^^ Have you a better way, or a sim'pler 
test? God, being a spirit, we can understand how 
we live in Him, and by Him, and He is us. Paul, 
in the Eoman letter, said, '^Man changed the glory 
of the incorruptible God for the likeness of cor- 
jniptible nian.'^ 

But man's mind is made after the image and 
power of God. For this reason God gave him do- 
Tfuinion over all other created natural things, and 
that power has never been taken away from man. 
C^rod, who is unlimited in wisdom and power, has 
made ntan his counterpart. Only he is limited 
for a time to make a test as to how he will use 
this power. Man realizes this power of thought 
in himself, how that neither space, time nor sub- 
stances can hinder its going forth, nor its power 
for good, and if the created have this power, how 
ftmch more- the Creator ? 

One more thought, which, while not taken from 
a Scripture text, is both reasonf^ble, and in har- 
mony with the tenor of the word as revealed to us. 



ON GOD. 23 

^Tis this: God is the author of nature^ but not 
a part of nature. The form, of man is a part of 
nature^ just as much so as is the form of the oak. 
But neither the tree nor the man represents God. 
But both are manifestations of His wisdom and 
power. 



CHAPTER TWO. 
MAN AND HIS EELATIONSHIP TO GOD. 

It was David who asked, "What is man, that 
tliou art mindfvd of him." Bv a careful studv of 
/lod's Word we find it teaches that man is com- 
TpQ>sed of tliree distinct parts, or elements, and 
.physiology corroborates this teaching. 

The first part of man is the body. This is built 
>up of material or earthly substances, and its pur- 
]pose and destiny is to grow up to maturity and 
'take a part in the reproduction of its own kind, 
a ad pass away as all other natural bodies do; for 
Crod created them male and female and command- 
'Cd them to '^ multiply and replenish the earth.'' 
:So every body which passes out of existence with- 
G-iit having a part in this work fails to completely 
fill the purpose for which it vras created. The 
cause of this failure may not be in the body itself, 
t)ut from some intervening cause or hindrance in 
the carrying out of its destiny; but this only con- 
firms the law of conditions and environments. 



MAN AND HIS RELATIONSHIP TO GOD. 25 

which applies in all things^ whether teinporal or 
spiritual. 

The second element in the make up of man is 
the lif e^ or that power given by God to vitalize and 
animate the body. This is given to all animals 
alike^ including man^ for it is written^ ^'God 
formed man of the dust of the ground, and 
breathed into his nostrils the breath of life.^^ This 
means that the body is formed or built up of earthy 
materials before the breath is given to it. Now, 
this is just as we see it in nature; the body is 
formed before birth, but the breath of life is not 
given until after a transition of the body, and 
while it rem.ains the same body, it has a different 
life, for the first, or embryoinic life is a community 
life with the mother, and dependent on her for its 
existence- But after birfh of the body (if all is 
norm.al) God gives the vitalizing air, or breath of 
life, and in this way the young body comes into 
possession of a separate and independent life. It 
often happens, when conditions have been unfa- 
vorable, that the body when passing out of the 
embryonic life, fails to receive the new and inde- 
pendent life. This we term still-bom. So we 
see the law^ of conditions and environments still 
holds good, because if the conditions are such that 
God does not breathe into the lungs this new life, 
man is powerless to either give the life, or pre- 
serve the body from decay. But when God gives 
the breath of life it vitalizes and builds up the 



26 THE OPEN PKARIvY GATES. 

body to maturity, and sustains it untl its natural 
destiny shall have been accomplished; then God 
takes the life power away, and the body moulders 
back to its original dust. 

Grod^s order in the creation of all things is to 
form the simplest or grosser parts first, then ad- 
yance to the higher and more complex. So man, 
in his component parts, is no exception to this rule. 
In the material creation, according to the record, 
plant life came first, then the creeping things and 
flying fowls, and then the beasts of the field. Then 
God said, "^^Let us make man in our image.^^ Now, 
this word ^^man^^ has a signification which will aid 
us in properly understanding what is the differ- 
ence between man and the other animals which 
were made, for the body of man is just as much an 
animal as is the horse or the cow. ^^Man" is a 
•Sanskrit word, and its original and unchanged 
meaning is "a thinking animal." This definition 
gives us a clue to the third, or image part, of 
man, which consists of the will, memory, intel- 
lect, the reasoning, and thinking faculties in man, 
We W'ill test these component parts of man, and 
see whether or not this subdivision harmonizes 
with the Word, and also with nature, 
j . First, we know that man can have a body 
v/ithout either having life, or mind, as is the 
c^se of a stillborn infant, or of an old body when 
the life has passed out of it. So this proves the 
first subdivision is right. 



MAN AND HIS RKI.ATIONSHIP TO GOD. 27 

Second;, we see idiots, and lunatics, who have 
both a body and hfe to animate it. bnt no in- 
tellect. 

Third, we have, as in a dream, where the mind 
of man wanders out, and seems to be unhampered 
by distance or any substance, and represents a 
condition, as described by Paul when he said, 
^"^Whether in the body, or out of the body I kno^ 
not/^ And yet the man realizes that he is 
existing. This represents the image of God part 
of man, and if yon can conceive of any form that 
will represent the mind of man, then you wi]] 
have a correct form for God. But Paul said ^"it 
doth not yet appear what we shall be, but when 
he appears we shall be like him.^^ Again Paul 
said, "I labor to keep my body under. *^ What was 
it labored to keep the body in subjection? Was 
it not the will, the mentality? And is this not 
what each one is commanded to do? 

It is only through a knoAvledge of God's word, 
we judge as to what is right and wroncf. and we 
labor to comply with its teachings and subdite 
the evil, and govern the animal passions and ap- 
petites. 

Adam was prohibited by God^s spiritual law from 
partaking of the plant of the knowledge of <rood 
and evil. What was this tree? 

After God made man, he said it was not iro^Ml 
for him to be alone, so he made an helpmate for 
him, and Adam said, "She is bone of my bone. 



28 THE OPEN PKARI.Y GATES. 

xiiid flesh of my flesh/^ (Just as each man and 
vrife is toda3^) "He that ioveth his own wiie 
laveth himself/^ "For this cause shall a man leave 
his father and his mother and cleave to his wife. 
and the twain shall become one flesh.'^ "This 
mystery is great^ bnt I speak in regard of Christ 
and the Church.^^ (Ephesian letter.) The mean- 
ing of this is^ that there must be a union of the 
two in order to bring forth fruits. The union 
of man and wife brings forth flesh, but the union 
of Christ (the groom) and the church (the bride) 
brings forth spiritual fruits. "By their fruits 
you shall know them/ Then it was good for 
Adam and his wife to live in union, and bring 
forth to replenish the earth; for God ordained 
this, and commanded it, but it was evil for Adam 
to have carnal communication w^ith another man's 
wife, because that w^ould be sowing a mixed seed. 
or two kinds in the same field, and God has com- 
manded not to do that. But, "The devil was 
more subtle than any beast of the field.^^ Then 
the devil was not a snake, for it is one of the 
beasts of the field, and the devil was more subtle 
than any of them. Then w^hat is the devil? John 
says he "is the deceiver of the nations.^^ Anyway, 
be talked and reasoned with Eve in persuading 
her to partake of the knowledge of evil, or par- 
take of that which she knew to be evil, because 
God had warned her, and the deceiver well knew 
this, for he said "You shall not surely die, for 



MAN AND HIS RKLxlTIONSHIP TO GOD. 29 

God doth Jvinow^ tliat in the day you eat of it, 
your eyes shall be opened^ and you shall know 
good and evil/"" (This is not the only devil who 
has persuaded innocent women, that it would do 
her no harm to partake of tliis evil; their name is 
legion.) And sure enough the eyes of both of 
them, vv'ere opened, but it was an opening to shame; 
they knew they were naked, so God said to the 
woman, ^^What have you done?^^ The woman said, 
"The serpent beguiled me,^' and the Lord said 
to the serpent (he was capable of understanding) 
"Because you have done this, cursed art thou 
above all cattle and above every beast of the field/' 
Mankind alone, of all animals, has the curse of 
a loathsome, contagious disease, which comes from 
illicit cohabitation. God placed this curse on this 
evil, and man is powerless to remove it from the 
unchaste. It is no disgrace to have the measles 
or smallpox, although we dread them, but it is a 
curse and a degradation to have that nameless 
disease which follows the adulterers. So the curse 
of God remains upon the deceiver, the devil, which 
curse is rottenness of the flesh, the lowest of all 
evils. 

Paul said, "Seeing he gives to all life and breath, 
and all things; so he gives the body and the life, 
ard all things that pertain to man's welfare, for 
Peter said, "All things that pertain to life and 
srodliness are given to us through a knowledge of 
him, who hath called us to glory and virtue/' Of 



30 THE OPEN PEARI^Y GATES. 

course this has reference to the spiritual life; there- 
fore if he gives that through a knowledge of God 
it does not sometimes come another way. So^ if 
we get this life through knowledge^ it grows or 
develops by or through the same means, for Paul 
wrote for us to ^^Be renewed in knowledge after 
the image of him who created us/^ and the Pro- 
phet wrote, "Wisdom is a tree of life to them that 
lay hold on her.*' 

Thus we see experience, physiology and reve- 
lation all agree in subdividing man into three 
parts — body, life, mind. This fact being establish- 
ed, we want to find which part of man God ad- 
dresses and holds responsible for transsressing his 
law. 

The command is, "Hear 0, Israel,^^ and this 
word hear is used in the sense of comprehending, 
for Christ said, "You must hear and understand,^' 
and the Lord said, "Come, let us reason togethBr.^' 
So we have this information. We must hear the 
word of God; we must reason, or weigh the prop- 
ositions heard, and we must understand what is 
meant in the message we hear. This constitutes 
the knowledge of God, which, if accepted and 
acted upon, gives the new life, which we are com- 
manded to lay hold on. This is the mind, built 
up by following after the teachings of God's word, 
and is contrasted with the untaught or carnal 
mind, or the mind taught only in natural things, 
for in Eomans Palil said, "The mind of the flesh 



MAN AND HIS RKI.ATIONSHIP TO GOD. 31 

is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed 
can be/^ AVhy not? Because if all things that 
pertain to this spirit life comes through a knowl- 
edge of God; then the mind untaught in this word 
could not be a subject to the spirit law. 

The seed of the spiritual reflects God^s glory, 
^yhile the seed of the flesh only reflects God's 
workmansliip. A writer on this subject has said, 
^"^Man is the masterpiece of all the wonders of this 
worlds in complexity, strength, adaptability, deli- 
cacy; the human is wonderful beyond compari- 
son. Every form of li:^ in the universe has its 
analogue in man. There is not a device known to 
architecture, nor mechanics, which the human 
body does not represent.^' 

The seed of the spiritual man is God's Word. It 
was the origin of Jesus, for the "Word was made 
flesh and dwelt among us.'' And it is the origin 
of every son of God that ever existed. Therefore, 
as each seed, according to nature, and revela- 
tion, too, must bring forth after its kind, it fol- 
lows conclusively, that the Word of God being 
spiritual, ("'^thy word is spirit'') must bring forth 
a spiritual plant, and, as the word abides forever, 
the plant must partake of this same characteristic. 

But, as this life is given upon the conditions of 
hearing and accepting the word, so also it is 
retained by holding to the word, and feeding on 
it, and developing to maturity by it. 

Thus a writer says: "A comprehensive judg- 



32 THK OPKN PKARLY GATES. 

ment of the race must show in the making. Man 
is not ready-made^, but a made to order product. 
The story of Adam's creation is true. It is a 
joy to knoAV that man was created after a divine 
image^ but that creation vras potential. He was 
made only enough so that he might make him- 
self.^^ 

Now, with regard to the responsible man, Paul 
says, ^^Every sin that a man commits is without 
the body, except the sin of fornication/^ This is 
an abuse of his own booi^, and the body receives 
its own punishment for this abuse. 

Now, if every sin is by some other part not 
the body, then the body could not rightly be held 
responsible for a sin it does not commit. The 
body cannot inherit the Kingdom of God for it is 
flesh and blood, therefore the body is not the re- 
sponsible part of man. The body and the vital- 
izing breath are both given without any volition 
on the part of the individual, and without any 
promise of either continuing as an individuality;, 
but this information is given to the intelligent 
mind, viz: That the "body shall return to the 
earth as it was. and the spirit (or life) return to 
God, who gave it.^^ We know the body disinte- 
grates aud becomes a part of earth, so the life 
being a power, goes back to God and becomes a 
part of his power, after accomplishing the will 
of God in the body. 

But we read where man is commanded "to keep 



MAN AND HIS RKI<ATlONSHIP TO GOD. 33 

the body in subjection/^ for the body is the house, 
or temple, for the home of the spirit which man 
gets by hearing and obeying God's law, so the 
man, or spirit of the man is required to keep this 
house clean or blameless. The body, as we have 
shown, cannot sin, for sin is a transgression of 
law, but God has never given a law to the body, 
but if the image of God in maaa (which is the 
knowledge and will power) permits the defile- 
ment of the body, God will destroy that man or 
spirit. 

This explains how we are ruling with Christ on 
earth, if we, through the word, keep our passions 
down, and our bodies in subjection, then we are 
ruling with him over the carnal and temporal 
parts of man; and we must continue this rule until 
all enemies to good are overcome, the last enemy 
being death. 

The natural tendencies of man are to evil; and 
all evil-doers are called children of the (d)evil, 
but Paul admonishes us, to put off that spirit, or 
inclination, and ^^put on the new man, which is 
Christ formed in you the hope of glory." Christ, 
the Word, became flesh, and dwelt among men, 
to show to man what kind of a spirit God would 
have in them to guide them in this life. So the 
record says, ^^Christ, who was in the image of 
God, took upon himself the form of a servant, 
being made in the likeness of man." (So he was 
not in the likeness of man^s body before this.) 



34 THE OPKN PKARI.Y GATES. 

Now as Christ was clothed with flesh, which was 
visible, and therefore temporal (for ^^seen things 
are temporaP^) to manifest a righteous life to the 
world; therefore in partaking of a temporal body 
which could be seen, it was necessary to put of! 
this body again before he could be perfected with 
the Father, as he was in the beginning. So he 
became obedient to the Father while in this body 
and until it was made a sin offering. And, as 
Christ is our elder brother, and was given for an 
example, then it is necessary that we too should 
live righteously and Godly, until the putting off 
of this tabernacle, so that we may be perfected by 
God, with Christ. In this sense, our completed 
salvation is yet in the future, that is, those of us 
now in the flesh, but if we are living right we are 
always in a justified state, and waiting for our 
change to come. 

God addresses the mind of man through his 
word, holding forth two conditions to man. The 
one is characterized by faith, truth, love, joy and 
life. This is a plant from the good word. The 
opposite is unbelief, error, malice and death. As 
between the two, every intelligent man is called 
upon to make a choice. The enemy, or deceiver, 
is the sower of all evil or bad seed. But the mind 
or intellect no more represents the new man, or 
spiritual plant, than the field, where the seed is 
sown in the natural world ,represents the forthcom- 
ing plant. Both the field and the heart, or mind, 



MAN AND HIS RKI.ATIONSHIP TO GOD. 35 

only represent a seed bed, or germinating place. 
When Gods word is sown in an honest heart, a 
good plaint develops, but when evil seeds are sown 
in the heart, and they take root or germinate, 
it is for destruction, for Christ said, ^^Every plant 
which my heavenly Father hath not planted shall 
be rooted up.'^ Therefore, if evil thoughts come 
into your mind, repel them at once, for to har- 
bor them, or to furnish room for them, is to al- 
low them to take root; sooner or later they must 
be driven out, or they will absorb the life or 
vitality of the mind, and cause a destruction of 
the whole. But if you receive and cherish good 
pure thoughts they quicken into spirit plants, 
but even here the life of the plant is conditional, 
as taught by the Savior in Matt. The seeds that 
were sown on rocky ground sprang up at once, 
because they had no depth of earth; in other 
words the mind received the word joyfully, but did 
not consider well nor understand properly what 
was required of it, so it had not depth of soil 
(did not retain them) sufficiently to keep it grow- 
ing, and consequently it perished. The Prophet 
said concerning this way that it should be '^so 
plain, that the wayfaring, though fools, should not 
err therein.^^ And this is the key, ^^it shall be 
called the way of holiness.^^ 

If you become a willing subject for God, you 
have the promise of an eternal life, but if you 
yield yourselves to serve evil you will lose your 



36 THE OPKN PKARI.Y GATKS. 

identity. Now^ as these promises and conditions 
are made to the intelligent or ^^image man'^ or 
spirit man^ it follows that the end will be either 
spirit lif e^ or spirit death, according as we choose 
and act. As in nature, the child is developed 
and brought to the transitional state by the moth- 
er. So in the spiritual life, it begins when the 
word is received into a good and honest heart, but 
the church, which is the bride, the LamVs wife, 
and ^^the mother of us alV^ must feed this em- 
bryo spirit on the knowledge of God until suffi- 
ciently developed to obey the requirements, or 
until faith is perfected by obedience. God then, 
^^beeause he becomes a son, sends his spirit into 
his heart crjdng ^^Abba, Father;'^ henceforth he 
is no longer dependent on the mother church for 
his spiritual existence. Christ taught this when 
he said ^^Except you be born of water, and the 
Spirit you cannot enter the Kingdom of Heaven.'' 
Again ^^He that believeth and is baptized shall be 
saved.'^ 

But what does baptism have to do with salvation, 
or the new birth? God has commanded man to do 
this, and for a wise purpose. First, God tests our 
faith; if we do what he has commanded without 
questioning, it shows we are willing to accept his 
wisdom, implicity, but to refuse to do this shows a 
lack of faith. Again, we are to let our light shine 
before men. Christ was the true light, and he was 
baptized, and John ^^came, baptizing, that Christ 



MAN AND HIS REI.ATIONSHIP TO GOD. 37 

(the True Light) might be made manifest to Is- 
rael/^ Peter said, "^^It was the answer of a good 
conscience toward God/^ Well, a conscience is 
a creature of education, so if you have been in- 
structed by the word, and find it says to be bap- 
tized, the only way to answer, or satisfy that con- 
sciousness of God^s teaching is to do what is com- 
manded, or what you are taught to do through the 
word. 

Again, baptism is given for a sign, under 
the Jewish dispensation, circumcision was the sign 
for God^s people, and all had to be circumcised 
to be reckoned as covenanted people, and Paul 
said of Christians under this dispensation, ^^As 
many of you as have been baptized into Christ 
have put on Christ/^ This, then, is the sign of 
the putting off the old fleshy man, and a reckoning 
from the spiritual. Let^s see if this is not what 
the Apostles taught. Paul said, in the Corinthian 
letter, ^Though we once knew Christ after the 
flesh, henceforth we will know him that way no 
more,^^ and ^^If any man be in Christ Jesus he is 
a new creature; old things have passed away, be- 
hold all things are become new.'^ If any man be 
in Christ, how get in? Baptized in. So, if you 
are in Him there is none of the old things reck- 
oned, no flesh, for Paul said, ^TTou are not in 
the flesh, but in the spirit, if so be the spirit of 
God dwells in you.*' No death, for Christ said, 
^Hei that liveth and believeth in me shall never 



38 THE OPEN PEARI^Y GATKS 

die/^ No more pain, tears, sorrow and sickness 
for these all pertain to the old fleshly man. Then 
this new man has a spirit law to be governed by: 
Some of these requirements are to add; first, vir- 
tue — the Savier taught that '^f a man looks on 
a woman, to lust after her, he hath committed 
adultery with her already in his heart/' This is 
not the case in the natural. Second, knowledge, 
but the flesh knoAvs notliing without a mind, so it 
means to build up the mind. We are to "assemble 
for the purpose of teaching and admonishing one 
another to good works," and to break the "loaf* 
which commemorates the sacrifice of his body for 
sin, once for all time, and is a memorial that 
there will be no more blood offerings, for Christ 
said, woe unto you hypocrites, for you killed the 
Prophets and build their tombs, because of this 
the wisdom of God said, "I will send them Apostles 
and Prophets, some they will kill and persecute, 
so that all the blood of the world may be required 
of this generation.'' This does not mean that that 
generation would be judged for all the shed blood, 
for that would not be in harmony with the Scrip- 
ture elsewhere, which says "Every man shall give 
account for his own deeds done in the body." But, 
from the beginning of God's law to man, until 
the passing out of the Jewish dispensation God 
had allowed man to offer animal sacrifices for sins. 
But Christ fulfilled that law by offering his own 
body once for all time, so that God required of 



MAN AND HIS RELATIONSHIP TO GOD. 39 

the Jews of that generation^ all the blood sacrifices 
that would ever be accepted. Therefore, no more 
blood sacrifices will be accepted, but each man 
must offer his own body a living sacrifice 
to put away sins committed while in this 
body. So, as the '^'^Word^^ was given a body 
to offer for sins, and as this offering has been ac- 
cepted for all time, there is no more occasion for 
Christ to appear again in the body as he did 
while here in the flesh. So Christ, since he put 
off the flesh, is the word again, and a loaf is 
typical of a slain or lifeless body as the unleavened 
loaf is inanimate, has no raising or leavening pow- 
ers in it. But the assembling is still in order, 
for new babes in Christ are constantly coming 
into the body, and these must be taught by giv- 
ing them spiritual food, suitable for development 
in this new life. But how long is it necessary to 
partake of this loaf? Until the spirit life is de- 
veloped sufficiently to recognize Christ in the word, 
for he said, ^^As oft as you do this you shew forth 
my death till I come.^^ 

A contrast between the fleshly man and the 
spiritual man will here be in order. 

Geology teaches that there are evidences of 
man's existence on this earth, two hundred thou- 
sand years or more, before the generally accepted 
time as fixed by the Bible account for Adam's cre- 
ation. Is there a conflict between the teaching of 
the Bible and that of science? I think not. On 



40 THE OPEN PKARI.Y GATES. 

the contrary, they each corroborate the other, for 
when we understand and properly interpret the 
Bible history of Adam^s creation, it means a call- 
ing out from among mien of the natural order, 
to that of a spiritual or higher order of beings, 
or a ^^new creation^^ as Paul puts it in 2nd Corin- 
thians. 

Paul says in 1st Cor., ^'^The first Adam became a 
living soul, the last Adam (Christ) a life-giving 
spirit.^^ Eemember this is spiritual instruction to 
God^s people, and it pertains to the spiritual life. 
For, if the first Adam* mentioned here, meant the 
first man in a natural sense, then the last Adam 
here mentioned would be the last man. This is 
logical and conclusive; but this is not so, because 
Christ was not the last man, neither was Adam the 
first natural man, but Adam was the first man 
called out by God^s Word, hence he became a 
living soul, and became an examiple of a spiritual 
failure. But the last Adam became a life giving 
spirit because he proved faithful. And for this 
reason he is held out as an example of fidehty to 
all the world. 

But Adam was a type of the new man, for 
Paul said Adam ^Vas a figure of him who should 
come after.^V Adam, therefore, was a type of all 
who are built into the Lord^s house, for by fol- 
lowing after the Word of God, constituted Adam 
a son of God, just the same as it does today, for 



MAN AND HIS RKIvATlONSHIP TO GOD. 41 

Paul says^ ^^As many as are led by the spirit of 
God^ they are the sons of God/^ 

The record itself shows this distinction was 
made back there, because it says, ^^The sens of God 
, looked upon the daughters of men and saw that 
they were fair/^ 

But Adam fell away by transgressing God^s law, 
for "sin is a transgression of the law/^ So in 
like manner all who sin now are reckoned as trans- 
gressors, and in a dead state, for it is written, 
"As by one man, sin entered into the world, and 
death by sin, so death has passed upon all men, 
for all have sinned/^ This has been the law of 
God throughout all dispensations, that "the soul 
that sins it shall die/^ (e. g. be separated from 
God.) 

But Adam could not have sinHed if he had not 
had a law to keep, "for sin is a transgression of 
]aw.^^ 

So this proves conclusively that Adam was the 
first man to whom God gave his law to keep, and 
this being a new condition constituted Adam a 
hew creation, and this same principle or condi- 
tion still applies to mankind, for Paul said, "If 
any man be in Christ Jesus he is a new creature^* 
(or a new creation). "Old things are passed away, 
behold all things are become new/^ No more a 
reckoning of the flesh and blood, or natural man, 
but a separated people who are called "sons of 
God.^^ 



44 THE OPEN PEARI.Y GATES. 

So time commenced in the Lord^s house with 
Adam^ and it ceased with Christ. Time as man 
is keeping it today commences with some noted 
events and represen^ts nothing only so many sea- 
sons since a certain temporal transaction occurred. 
But the Lord^s time ceased with Christ because 
he has no descent with which to keep time^, and 
time of necessity caai only relate to the temporal 
or seen, and not the unseen or eternal. 

Now this age, or dispensation, is the Sabbath 
or rest time in the spiritual creation, for in the 
Hebrew letter it is written, ^There remains there- 
fore a Sabbath rest for the people of God.^^ And 
again. "We who have believed do enter into that 
rest.^^ Therefore, this being the rest time, there 
will be no more apartments added to the Lord's 
house. So it is not necessary to keep time any 
more, since Christ over the Lord^s house abides 
forever. 

Christ says, "I am the resurrection and the lif e/^ 
"I am the first and the last.^^ "I am the beginning 
and the end.^^ It is always "I am'^ with the 
Christ. 

Today is the day of salvation, there will be no 
tomorrow, for there will be no night, nor no end- 
ing to this dispensation. But it is always now. 
This is a part of the great eternity, therefore, 
do not look for time to cease and eternity to set in. 

It is the spiritual man which is recognized 
as external, for the body being visible, is, therefore. 



MAN AND HIS RKI.ATIONSHIP TO GOD. 45 

temporal; this means, it has a time limit, and 
when we think of the body without life, it is one of 
themost loathsome, and repulsive of all objects, with 
which we come into contact. So much so, indeed, 
that few people will voluntarily stay alone with 
a dead body. 

This is mentioned to show that it is not the 
body of man that is lovable, or precious, but it is 
the good spirit, that we admire. So with respect 
to God, it is not a body we should worship, but it 
is the good spirit of wisdom, and love, and mercy, 
manifested on every hand, and at all times, which 
calls forth our admiration, and reverence. 

Man is prone to have fear of any living form, 
or body, unless he knows what kind of a spirit 
it possesses. If man sees a strange animal he 
will approach it very cautiously until he 
be satisfied it will not harm him, but 
if he knows it will not harm him, then 
he approaches it fearlessly. Thus, we are com- 
maixded to come boldly to a throne of grace. Wliy? 
Because we know we will not be harmed, for we 
know the spirit of Him who said, ^^Come unto me 
all you who are weary and heavy laden and I will 
give you rest.^^ This means come to him now; do 
not put this off expecting time, or opportunity, 
to change the conditions.,The gates are wide open; 
enter now into God^s Holy City. 



THIRD CHAPTER 

CHEIST, THE WORD, AND HIS SECOND 

COMING! 

"In the beginniiig was the word, and the word was 
with God, and the word was God/^ As God^s word 
rules now, so it has always been a rnler, and will 
always continue to rule. 

This word became flesh, and dwlet among men 
to nianifest, or to make known, the God, or the 
Holy Spirit, and John says, it was before him, so 
it was not the flesh which John had reference to, 
for he was before Christ in the flesh. 

You will find wherever the word of Christ, or any 
of the appellations of Deity, occur, (except where 
it has reference to his manifestations in the flesh, 
that you can substitute "Word,^^ for whatever 
name used, and the sense will still be complete, 
and the same m'eaning prevail. So two things, 
which are equal to a third, are equal to each 
other, thus we have Christ, the Son, the Word, the 
Savior, used interchangeably. The logical con- 
clusion, therefore, would be, that where any one 
of these terms are used, that it expresses the same 



CHRIST, THE WORD AND HIS SECOND COMING. 47 

thought as if either of the other words had been 
used. 

When we speak of Christ, it would be equally 
appropriate to say the "Word/^ as the meaning 
is the same. 

In Acts, we have this reading: ^'The word, 
which He sent unto the children of Israel, preach- 
ing good tidings of peace by Jesus Christ,^^ (or by 
the anointed one), "he is Lord of All." This tells 
of the word being sent to the children of Israel, 
and preaching to them, (or teaching them) . Then 
in Eph, we have this, ^^And he came, and preached 
peace to you that were far off, and peace to them 
which were nigh." Thus it is taught; Christ 
came on this side of Pentecost, and preached 
peace to both Jew, and Gentile, while on the 
other side^ he preached to the Jews only. Evidentlj' 
this has reference to the word which was preached 
to the Gentiles by the Apostles, and the word that 
followed Israel in the wilderness. The word is 
also, the Savior, for Paul said, "The gospel is the 
power of God unto salvation to every one that be- 
lieveth." The "Word" was the Christ before this 
manifestation, because Paul said, "Israel ate and 
drank of that spiritual rock which followed them, 
and that rock was Christ." Well, the "Word" 
followed them all through the wilderness, and 
the Apostles taught that the word of the Lord, 
is Spiritual food, and spiritual drink, under this 
dispensation; then in the Hebrew letter, we learn 



48 THE OPEN PEARI.Y GATES. 

that "Jesus Christ is the same^ yesterday^ and 
today, and forever/^ From this we get the les- 
son that Christ, The Word, has always been a 
teacher as now, and will always remain a teacher, 
or spiritual food, and drink, or livinig waters, and 
the bread of life. And the "Word,^^ has always 
been a ruler, and always will be a ruler. 

Christ, and Messiah, both mean anointed, 
which is, to set apart for a certain purpose. Well, 
it is written that "Christ was anointed to be the 
judge of the quick and dead,^^ and Jesus himself 
said, "The words I speak shall judge you in the 
last day,^^ so the word is also anointed to judge. 

John also says , "The anointing which you re- 
ceived of him abides in you, and you need not that 
any one should teach you, but as his anx)inting 
teaches you concerning all things, and is true, and 
is BO lie, and even as it taught you, you abide in 
Him.^^ 

What is it teaches us? Peter says, "We are be- 
gotten again by the word of truth which lives, 
and abides forever.^^ It has the same character- 
istics as the Christ, and just as powerful, for it is 
written, "The Word of God is living, and active, 
and sharper than any two edged sword, piercing 
even to the dividing of soul, an^d spirit, and is 
quick, to discern the thoughts, and intents of the 
heart.'' 

God has always had a ruler over, and with his 
people to instruct them in all things where in- 



CHRIST, THK WORD AND HIS SECOND COMING. 49 

struction was necessary. These have been in the 
person of Kings^ Priests^ and Prophets; but un- 
der the temporal reign^ these rulers changed 
often^ by reason of death. But Christ came as 
a Prophet^ Priest and King, and abides forever, 
so he is the end of the law for all these, (temporal 
leaders) to all that believe. Now, these instruc- 
tors, and rulers and intercessors, were always ac- 
cessible to the people, so they could know at any 
time what to do and how to make an offering for 
sins, etc. Is it reasonable that God would remove 
all these leaders and have nothing left as a guide, 
and ruler, that the people would not have as com- 
plete access to Him now, as in former times? Cer- 
tainly not. The "Word,^^ has taken th^ place 
of all these temporary leaders, for as prophet, the 
word is an instructor, for a Eang, it is a ruler, and 
for a priest, it directs exactly how to make an 
acceptable sacrifice or offering, and it is infallible, 
because the same truths are taught, and the same 
spirit manifested, as was done during Christ^s tem- 
poral ministry. 

This is the only way we may know the Christ, 
for if we were to rely upon some form, or some 
display, or appearance, we might be deceived. But 
Christ warned us against that, both by precept, and 
example, for he said, ^^If any man say he is in 
the desert, go not out,^^ or, ^That he is in a secret 
place, believe it not.^^ And His own Apostles, 
who had been with him almost constantly, for 



50 THE OPKN PKARI.Y GATES. 

more than three years^ could not recognize him at 
times by any form, or by his appearance to the 
natural eye. An*d it is said by Mark, that he, 
^'^ Appeared to them in another form/^ (or a differ- 
ent form). Then if we do not accept these 
teachings, how easy it would be for some evil 
schemers, to fix up by the aid of art, and science, 
and ascend in a balloon, then have several para- 
chutes, or an airship, or some means of descend- 
ing slowly, and by m/aking an artificial cloud 
to envelop them, in this, or some similar way, 
they would deceive, not only the simple, and su- 
perstitious, but also, many uninformed, and credu- 
lous people. But I thank God, he has forewarned 
us against impostors, and deceivers. I have heard 
many teach, saying, he is there, but when asked 
to locate the place, it becomes evident that they 
know as little about the where, as those they 
are trying to teach. 

Christ said, ^^Hereaf ter, you shall see the heavens 
opened, and the angels ascending, and descending 
upon the Son of man." The opening, or separ- 
ating of the heavens was the separating of the 
two dispensations, where the Son of man came 
to fulfill the one, and usher in the new law. And, 
under the teaching of this new word, messengers, 
or angels are exalted, and by the same word they 
are cast down for wrong doing. Matt, said. 
Whosoever shall speak against the son of man, it 
shall be forgiven him, but ^'Who^oever shall speak 



CHRIST, THE WORD AND HIS SECOND COMING. 51 

against the Holy Spirit^ (or Holy Word, for ^^Thy 
word is Spirit/^ and it is holy, because it comes 
from God) and it shall not be forgiven him/^ 

Why this distinction? The Son of man, as I 
understand it, represents the human or temporal 
part of Christ, or the body in which the spirit was 
manifest to mankind, and to speak against that 
part is pardonable, but to speak against the good 
spirit that was manifested, is unpardonable. And 
why? Because that spirit of love is all there i& 
to save man, and as the word teaches of this spirit, 
to reject it, is to be an unbeliever: therefore^ as 
dnly believers are saved, there is no pardon for the 
unbeliever, so there being no other means of sal- 
vation, it is unpardonable to reject this — ^the gos- 
pel, which is Grod^s power to save. 

Again it is written concerniiig Christ, ^"^Sacri- 
fices, and offerings, and burta,t offerings thou 
wouldst not, but a body thou hast prepared for 
me.^^ This body was given to be an offering for 
sin. This was to be an anti-type of the animal 
sacrifices under the law age, so, when the body 
of flesh was offered up and done away with, why 
was not the word, or spirit, just the same as it 
had been before it was first clothed with flesh? 
And if the word was Christ, in the wHdemess, be- 
fore being clothed with flesh, then after the 
fleshly clothing was removed, why is it not again 
the word? 

Through John, Christ gave notice to his apos- 



52 the: OPKN PKARI.Y GATES. 

tles^ that he was going away, and that he would 
return again. His instructions to them, shows 
that it would not be by a form, that he would be 
manifested, for he said, ^^I will manifest myself to 
you, but not to the world.'^ Now, if this mani- 
festation was so that it could be tested by sight, 
or by any of the other natural senses, then the 
world could, and would be as quick to perceive 
him, as his followers are. But this is not so. 

The Coming of Christ is often spoken of as a 
f ut*ire event, and in one respect it is future, viz. : 
That to those who have not accepted the word 
of Grod as true, and have not received of his spirit, 
to them if they ever accept, the. coming is fu- 
ture. 

Thomas asked, ^Vhat has come to pass, (e. g. 
what kind of a change is made) that you will 
mjanifest yourself to us, and not to the world ?^' 
Ke said, ^^f any man love nxe, and keep my 
com)mandments, the Father will love him, and 
we will come to Him, and make our abode with 
Him.^' ^^And now I have told you this before 
it is come to pass, that when it is come to pass, 
you may believe.^^ Believe what? When I thus 
mjanifest myself, believe "That I am he." The 
apostles certainly understood how this manifes- 
tation would be, for, when he was yet with them, 
here in the flesh, and sending out his disciples 
two and two, to teach the things concerniing the 
Kingdom, he told them, "When they persecute 



CHRIST, THK WORD AND HIS SECOND COMING. 53 

you in this citj;, flee to the next, for you will 
not have gone through the the cities of Israel, till 
the son of man be come.'^ $n another place he 
said, ^The Son of niian is about to come in the 
glory of his Father, with his angels,^^ "Verily I 
say unto you there be some of those standing here 
which shall not taste death till they see the Son 
of man coming in his kingdom/^ Again, "where 
two or three of you (disciples) are gathered to- 
gether in my name, there am I in the midst/^ 
Reader, I believe this statement — do you? 

This second coming was to be "like a thief in 
the night,^^ you cannot see a thief coming at 
night, and you may not know at what hour he 
came, but you will probably see the effect of his 
coming. This is the thought as given by John 
in Eev, "I may have come upon you as a thief, 
and thou mayest not have known at what hour I 
may have come upon you/^ That is, if you do 
not watch, I may come upon you unawares. 
But, to the Christian who is watching, this 
coming will not be as a thief, for, "Yourselves 
know perfectly, that the day of the Lord so 
comes as a thief in the night.^' "But yoa. 
Brethren, are not in darkness that that day 
should overtake you as a thief, for God appointed 
us not for wrath, but to the obtaining of salva- 
tion/^ "So that, whether v/e wake or sleep, we 
should live together with him/^ 

Again, the Savior in Luke said, "Be like men 



54 THE OPKN PEARI.Y GATES. 

looking for their Lord when he shall return from 
the marriage feast^ that when he comes and 
knocks^ you may straightway, open unto him/' 
"Peter asked, is this, (warning) for us, or even 
to all/^ P[e said, "Who is the faithful, and wise 
steward, blessed is that servant, whom his Lord^ 
when he comes will fiud so. doing/^ 

The marriage feast is ready, and Christ is now 
knocking at the bride's door, if you are one of 
his, then open up ! open up ! and let the spirit in. 

A description of his last going away is given 
thus: "'Ye men of Gallilee, this same Jesus, 
whom you have seen go up into heaven, shall 
so come in like manner as you have seen him go 
away.'^ No reference here to any form, or what 
kind of apparel was worn, by which he might be 
known, to the natural senses, but we learn, his 
comjing is to be as lightning. On Pentecost he 
appeared as cloven tongues as of fire. To Paul, as 
a bright light shining around him. 

To two disciples he appeared as a man, but 
was unknown to them in that form, that is, they 
did not recognize him by his form, but he made 
himself known by opening their eyes to the teach- 
ings of the scriptures, and in the breaking of 
bread. Then his body "vanished out of their 
sight.^^ 

This is positive evidence that the Christ can- 
not be known, or recogn^ized by any form, or 
outward appearance, for among the very people 



CHRIST, THE WORD AND HIS SECOND COMING. 55 

who had seen most of him in the fleshly form, 
they wanted him to say whether he was indeed 
the Christ, and although, they crucified him, Peter 
said, they did it in ign)Orance. But there were 
many eye witnesses to his going away, and in 
like manner there were many eye witnesses on 
Pentacost to those demonstrations, and his fol- 
lowers recognized the same power, and charac- 
teristics, as he had made known to them before 
he went away. 

While here in the flesh Christ always cau- 
tioned those who were convinced of Ms majesty, 
that ^^They tell no man that he was the Christ,'^ 
and ^'This was done to fulfill the prophecy,'' ^Tliis 
is my servant, whom I have chosen, I will put 
my spirit upon him, he shall not strive, nor cry 
aloud, till he send forth judgment to victory/^ 
^^and in his name shall the Gentiles hope/' 

Being at that time in the form of a servant, 
(that is in form of man) and not perfected by 
suffering, and the putting away of the fiesh, he 
did not want to be known as the Christ, By the 
flesh, for he told Peter, when Peter confessed that 
he was the Christ, ^^Flesh and blood hath not re- 
vealed it unto thee." Then Peter did not know by 
his form of flesh and blood, nor by the body. 

But, do not the scriptures speak of his com- 
ing as a future event? 

Most assuredly it does, but if the word is the 
Savior, or anointed, it was not all given on pente- 



65 THE OPEN PKARI.Y GATES. 

cost^ for Paul afterwards said, ^^Now we know in 
part/' 

But the coming was begun on pentecost, and 
instructions of the spirit through the Apostles 
contiuiued for some forty or fifty years, before all 
the will of God was revealed. So in the first let- 
ters to the Christians, we find many references to 
a future coming. The coming of the knowledge 
of Christ is always gradual, or is a growth, or de- 
velopment. The Apostles gave instructions to 
the churches to suit the dift'erent circumstances, 
and varied conditions of Christians. So this 
coming was partial, or in part. But when all 
the whole will of God had been revealed, then 
these prophets, who were inspired to teach in 
part, as the circumstances required, were discon- 
tinued, or done away, and we all now have the 
same means of knowing, hence there are no more 
teachers specially inspired now, but we know 
others as also we are known, "By their fruits you 
shall know them.'' 

Beforethistimepeople judged by outward apepar- 
ances, or by sight. So in ignorance they judged 
and killed the Christ. 

"But the things which God foreshowed by the 
mouth of all his prophets, that Christ should suf- 
fer, he fulfilled." , 

Of course, this killing had reference to the 
body, for they could not kill the spirit. The flesh 
had fulfilled its mission in being a temple for 



CHRIST, THK WORD AND HIS SECOND COMING. 57 

the holy spirit, and in ignorance they put Him to 
death. Peter said, ^^Eepent, therefore, that your 
sins may be blotted out. So there may come 
timies of refreshing from the presence of the 
Lord, and that he may send Christ, whom the 
heavens, (his people) must receive, until the times 
of the restoration of all things, whereof God has 
spoken by the mouth of His Holy Phophets.^^ 

This is what God said by the prophets. ^^I will 
make a new covenant with my people.^^ Not like 
the one he made when he took them by the 
hand to lead them out of Egypt, but, ^^I will 
write my laws in their hearts, and in their minds 
will I imipress them.^^ ^^And their sins and their 
iniquity will I remember no more.'^ "But I will 
dwell in them, and they shall be my people and 
I will be their God.'' 

Here a thought on the times of the "Restitu- 
tion of all things,'' what the prophet said about 
this had reference to the new covenant. Christ 
came, and fulfilled the old, anl it was no longer in 
effect. This found the people of God without 
a law, so Peter said, "The Heavens must receive 
Him," (the word) until this restoration or new 
law should come in or be completed, so the Apos- 
tles received the word and taught it by example, 
by preaching, and by written instructions, and 
when all of God's will was made known to his 
people, this became the perfect way. And ^^very 
soul who will not hear that prophet shall be des- 



58 THK OPEN PKARIvY GATES. 

troyed from among the people/^ Christ said, 
"If they hear you^ they hear me/^ Therefore, Peter 
said, "Unto you first, God having raised up Jesus, 
sent Him to bless you, in turning away every olie 
of you from; your iniquities/^ In this instance 
Peter said emphatically that God had sent the 
Christ to the Jews first, after raising Him up, 
and the record shows that the word of salvation 
was first prea<3hel to the Jews. Paul said it 
was necessary that it first be preached to them, 
but, "Seeing you judge yourselves unworthy of 
eternal life, lo we turn to the Gentiles.^^ Again, 
"We did not follow cunningly devised fables, when 
we made knowtn to you the power, and coming 
of Christ, for we were e3^e witnesses of His Ma- 
jesty/' 

This power, and coming did not have refer- 
ence to Christ's advent in the flesh, for Peter 
was teaching Christians, who lived in this same 
generation, and consequently they knew about 
that, but Peter tells them about how they had 
beheld his majesty an the "Mount.'' 

Then Peter proceeded to warn them about 
false teachers, and that, "Scoffers would come, 
saying where is the promise of his coming, (or of 
his presence) for since the fathers fell asleep, all 
things remain as they were." There are many of 
these scoffers and false teachers now, who say he 
has not come, but that he will come in the end 
of time. But the Prophets taught, and the Apos- 



CHRIST, THB WORD AND HIS SKCOND COMING. 59 

ties teach that this reign of Christ is to be ever- 
lasting, and that he is the same yesterday, and 
today and forever, so there can be no time for 
him to come without making a change, and this is 
iiot in harmony with the revealed word. 

James says, ^^The Coming of the Lord is at 
hand/' So if the Lord is come or is present, and 
He does not dwell in our hearts, it is because 
the temple or body is defiled, and unfit for a 
habitation for his holy spirit, by reason of evil 
deeds. 

Joh^ says, ^"The Father, the word, and the Holy 
Spirit, are one; so let's reason about his coming 
this way. 

When we speak of the ^^Word,'' with reference 
to Christ, we do not mean the Bible, or the 
record of his teachings, because the world can 
have that, and it is of the seen, or temporal, or 
perishable. But the word is that spirit, or will 
power which God gives to His children, and this 
spirit, man must accept as coming from a su- 
perior intellect, and a greater power than man, 
therefore, it is a matter of faith, and not of sight. 
But if the Christ is yet to come in some form 
that the mortal eye can see, then it will place Him 
scripturally of the temporal, and not of the eter- 
nal, for the scripture teaching is, that, ^^The seen 
things are temporal,'' and there are no exceptions 
made to this rule; so should Christ appear to us 
in the flesh, it would be a going back from the 



60 o THK OPEN PEARLY GATES. 

spiritual^ and eternal, into the temporal, and lim- 
ited. 

John in Eev. saw the dividing of the old 
from ihe new covenajnt, and the going forth of 
the gospel, and he tells it thus: 

"I saw heaven opened, and behold a white 
horse, and he that sat thereon, called, faithful, 
and true/^ "And in righteousness doth he judge, 
and niake war. His eyes, (spirits) a flame of fire, 
and He hath a name written which no man 
knows, but He himself, and his name is called 
the Word of God/' 

Paul wrote to the Church at Eph, ^Tray for 
us, that utterance may be gi\C3i unto me, in open- 
ing my mouth, to make known the mystery of the 
Gospel, for which I am an ambassador, (or one 
sent with a message) "for we are stewards of the 
mystery of God/^ If the Apostles were stewards 
of God^s mystery, they had the right to dispense 
it, or disclose it when necessary, thus we can un- 
derstand what Paul meant, when in one of his 
first letters to disciples, thus he said, ''^Wait for 
His Son from heaven, (or word from his stew- 
ards), which delivers us from the wrath to come/' 
It is following God's word, or instructions that 
delivers us from wrath. 

John, writing to Christians, said, "The Anti- 
Christ was to deny the Father, and the Soh, but to 
confess the Son was to have the Father also, but 
to deny the Son, (deny you have him) is to deny 



CHRIST, THK WORD AND HIS SECOND COMING. 61 

the Father/^ This is eqeuivilant to saying if you 
deny the word^ yon deoiy the Father^ for "Let that 
which yon heard from the beginning abide in 
yon^ and then yon abide in both the Father, and 
the son/^ It is evident^ that every man has some 
kind of spirit. John says try them ; every 
spirit, which confesses that J^ns is come in tlio 
flesh, is of God." But some say this has refer- 
ence to Christ^s coming through the flesh. It cer- 
tainly does not, for this was to Christians, who had 
accepted him as the Christ, and they were being 
warned about false teachers who denied that 
Christ came to Christians, or that Christ had 
come in their flesh. Because he says, "Ye are 
of God my httle children, and have overcome 
them." Had overcome what? Whv these false, 
spirits who deny that Christ has come." Be- 
cause greater is he that is in you, than he that 
is in the world." The world has not this spirit 
in their flesh, or mind, consequently they cannot 
overcome the false teaching, that Christ is not 
with us, but will come at some future time to 
bless them and make them happy, but this is not 
the spirit of Christ. So even the world, (or wicked) 
have some kind of spirit, but the spirit of God 
in his children is greater than the spirit of evil 
that is in the world. 

"No man has seen God at any time, but we 
know that he abides in us by His spirit." But 



62 THE OPEN PEARI^Y GATES. 

some men say we have not God, and we have 
not Christy and we have not eternal life, but, that 
we have a promise of them at some future time, 
but "The witness of God is greater than the wit- 
ness, of man, and this is the witness of God, that 
He has given us external life, and this life is in 
His son, he that hath the Son hath the life, he 
that hath not the Son, hath not that life.'* 
^^These things I have writteta unto you, that you 
may know you have eternal life, even to you who 
beHeve on the name, of the Son of God/^ 

The question for each one of us to ask our- 
selves is, have we that witness in us, if so, we 
have Christ in us and have the eternal life, but we 
are not yet perfected in the life so lo*ng as we 
are in the flesh. But like Christ our leader, we 
must be obedient unto death then God will give 
us the victor's crown. 

But if we believe and follow the word, "We 
know that the Son of God is come, and hath given 
us understanding, and we know him, and are in 
Him. This is the true God, and eternal life. My 
little children guard yourselves from idols.'' Here 
is a warning, "Whosoever goeth onward, and 
abides not in the teaching of Christ, hath not 
God; he that abides in the teachings, the same 
hath both the Father and the Son.'^ Nearly all 
the texts referring to the coming of Christ in 



CHRIST, THE WORD AND HIS SECOND COMING. 63 

the New Testament is rendered in the emphatic 
translation as "his presence/^ 

Now^ as we stated, we have a record of God^s 
word, but it has been tra;nslated out of another 
language into the English, and many errors are 
brought in by reason of the difficulty in selecting 
from synonymous words, one that will exactly 
cdtojTey the meaning the original writer intended 
to convey, then the translator, often incorporates 
his own ideas as to the meaning of certain phrases, 
and it sometimes happens that he was mistaken 
as to the proper meaning, for these reasons we 
should hunt for light, and truth, from every 
source available, if we were to get a true state- 
ment from the devil, it would be truth. 

We should labor to sift out the pure, and true, 
from the great pile of promiscuous information, 
which comes to us along our way in this life. 

It is evident to my mind, that any one who 
teaches that God, and Christ, is not with us, but 
is looking forward to a time when Christ will 
appear in a visible form, is an idolator. Why so? 
Because if God is a spirit,, and pervades the uni- 
verse, th^ there is no place for Him to come 
to ,(except into the hearts of those who believe 
the record of his Son, for he makes this his throne 
and abiding place.) To identify his form with 
reference to any particular object which we see, is 
a myth. 



64 THB OPEN PKARI.Y GATES. 

Skepticism is founded and kept alive on the 
theological dogma of a personal God, in the form 
of man, who is seated in some locality, though the 
place is unknown and unknowable. But when 
revelation says God is spirit, faith lays hold on 
this statement and accepts it as true without try- 
ing to imagine what He looks like. In other 
things we use better judgment than this, for if 
we speak of air we understand it is a subtle fluid, 
and we do not try to imiagine a form or body to 
represent it. So with water, which is almost as 
universal as air, and assumes every imaginable 
form, but we do not judge it by any particular 
form or color. 

So spirit, perhaps, is a universal substance, but 
we know only the qualities of spirit by the in- 
fluence exerted by it. We do not see the spirits of 
our fellow associates, but we judge only by the test 
as revealel, viz.: ^^By their fruits ye shall know 
them.'' 

As in the natural body, so in the spiritual, God's 
plan is to build up by adding a little here and a 
little there, until the structure is complete- Thus 
in building the new TdSii^i we start by accepting a 
truth, then adding another, and another, until we 
arrive at the intellectual stature that the Creator 
intended we should reach. The new man in Christ 
is commanded to "study to show himself approved 
bf God;" but if he fails to heed this admonition 



CHRIST, THE WORD AND HIS SECOND COMING. 65 

he will be a spiritual dwarf, if indeed lie is not 
east out Entirely. Isaiah said: "The child shall 
die an hundred years old, and the sinner an hun- 
dred years old shall be accused/^ Then it is not 
the number of years that develops spiritual growth, 
but it is knowledge of God^s will and law and a 
compliance to them. 

Now we sum up thus: That Christ is the word, 
or spirit ^that God sent into the world to instruct 
mankind in the way of righteousness; that He has 
always existed; that he was manifested in the 
flesh to mankind;, and that by faith we can mani- 
fest the same spirit which He did, and that by 
this we know that man possesses the spirit of 
Christ, and if he has the same spirit, then he is 
one with Him, or in union with Him, and that He 
gives this spirit to all who wills to follow after 
His revealed will, or word, and that the word is 
the only mediator between God amd man, and man 
can reahze his beneficent influence by faith in 
this word and a conformity to the teachings of 
the word, and that this, and this alone, gives prom- 
is of an eternal life, and in accepting the word we 
lay hold on the life. 



FOUKTH CHAPTER. 

ON THE JUDGMENT. 
Man is so prone, in studying a proposition, to 
compare it to somethiDg he has already learned 
that it is difficult to present to his mind a thought 
that is at variance from any idea he may have 
gotten before, whether his information come 
through observation and comparison or by signs 
conveyed to his mind ib words, and it matters 
not how erroneous the conclusions of his mind 
may be, if in his mind he has accepted as the truth 
any idea; then before that idea, though a false 
one, can be supplainted by a true one, it is ne- 
cessary for the opposing testimony to be so con- 
vincing as to make him doubtful about the cor- 
rectness of the first impressions, in order that he 
may be willing to take up the subject and re- 
investigate it. So, in my effort to put before the 
mind the true position with reference to the judg- 
ment of God^s people, I realize what a task I have 



ON THE JUDGEMENT. 67 

in the face of long-continued traditional and ac- 
cepted teaching, to get the ordinary mind to doubt 
the correctness of its former conclusions. 

But God in former dispensations gave a warn- 
ing to His people concerning the judgme^nt on this 
wise. Evil men will not understand the judg- 
mient, but they that seek after the Lord under- 
stand all things.'^ Now let's reason about this 
statement. If, as is usually taught and accepted 
as true, the whole human race is to be raised up 
after the death of this body of flesh and a judg- 
ment passed upon them, why will not the evil 
understand it just as well as the righteous? The 
reason is this: That the judgment of God is spir- 
itual and relates to His people, who have a knowl- 
edge of His spiritual law, and is a spiritual dis- 
cemmeto^t by that law; because it is written, ^^The 
Lord knoweth them that put their trust in him, 
but he will pursue his enemies into darkness; he 
will make a full end; affliction shall not rise up 
a second time, but they shall be destroyed utterly 
as dry stubble.^' Because "he will judge the world 
with righteousness and the people with his truth.'' 
The commandments of the Lord is righteousness, 
and His word is the truth, so that all mankind 
will be disposed of according to what He has com- 
manded by His word. Then let us see what the 
.'ommands are, through the word, concerning the 
judgment. 

The first proposition or teaching is, that all the 



FOURTH CHAPTER. 

ON THE JUDGMENT. 
Man is so prone, in studying a proposition, to 
compare it to something he has already learned 
that it is difficult to present to his mind a thought 
that is at variance from any idea he may have 
gotten before, whether his information come 
through observation and comparison or by signs 
conveyed to his mind ib words, and it matters 
not how erroneous the conclusions of his mind 
may be, if in his mind he has accepted as the truth 
any idea; then before that idea, though a false 
one, can be supplan^ted by a true one, it is ne- 
cessary for the opposing testimony to be so con- 
vincing as to make him doubtful about the cor- 
rectness of the first impressions, in order that he 
may be willing to take up the subject and re- 
investigate it. So, in my effort to put before the 
mind the true position with reference to the judg- 
ment of God^s people, I realize what a task I have 



ON THE JUDGEMENT. 67 

in the face of long-continued traditional and ac- 
cepted teaching, to get the ordinary mind to doubt 
the correctness of its former conclusions. 

But God in former dispensations gave a warn- 
ing to His people concerning the judgme*nt on this 
wise. Evil men will not understand the judg- 
iment, but they that seek after the Lord under- 
stand all things.^^ Now let^s reason about this 
statemeiit. If, as is usually taught and accepted 
as true, the whole human race is to be raised up 
after the death of this body of flesh and a judg- 
ment passed upon them, why will not the evil 
understand it just as well as the righteous? The 
reason is this: That the judgment of God is spir- 
itual and relates to His people, who have a knowl- 
edge of His spiritual law, and is a spiritual dis- 
cernme'nt by that law; because it is written, "The 
Lord knoweth them that put their trust in him, 
but he will pursue his enemies into darkness; he 
will make a full end; affliction shall not rise up 
a second time, but they shall be destroyed utterly 
as dry stubble.^^ Because "he will judge the world 
with righteousness and the people with his truth.'' 
The commandments of the Lord is righteousness, 
and His word is the truth, so that all mankind 
will be disposed of according to what He has com- 
manded by His word. Then let us see what the 
•ommands are, through the word, concerning the 
judgment. 

The first proposition or teaching is, that all the 



68 THE OPKN PKARIvY GATKS. 

world is under condemnation because of unbelief, 
for the Savior said, ^^The world is condemned 
already/" Let us make a note of this fact, if indeed 
we believe the statement is correct, that that part 
of mankind who are represented as the world is 
already under condemnation, and unless there be 
a means of getting out from that condition, then 
their doom is sealed; but God has sent a mes- 
sage to the world through his people to this ef- 
fect: "Whosoever believeth and is baptized shall 
be saved/^ Shall be saved from what? Saved from 
the condemnation resting on the world. Well, 
what relationship will they; then bear to the 
Father and to judgment? We learn in the He- 
brew letter that "^^the Lord will judge his people/^ 
So in cominjg out from the world one becomes a 
child of God, and the word will judge him in 
righteousness, e. g., judge him in regard to right- 
eousness. To illustrate this point: The word is 
to do the judging, for the Savior said: "I came 
not to judge; the words I speak shall judge in 
the last day.^^ But the unbelieving caniiot be 
saved by the word, because they are not guided 
by it, and it is God^s power to save, and there is 
no other name or authority under heaven by 
which a man can be saved. So it is reasonable that 
if a man either rejects it, or if it is never made 
known to him, he cannot be saved by it. So Paul 
said: "As many as have sinned without law shall 
also perish without law, but as many as have sin- 



ON THK JUDGKMKNT. 69 

ned under the law shall be judged by that law." 
Now as the judgment of God only applies to them 
that have been instructed in the word of truth, 
therefore the judgment^ and punishment of the 
wicked, both pertain to the spiritual, and not to 
the carnal or fleshly. Suffering in the flesh is 
not a punishment inflicted by God, but it is 
brought about by a violation, of the laws of na- 
ture, and whether it be an intentional or acci- 
dental violation the punishment comes all the 
same. If a boy steps on a coal of fire, whether 
purposely or ignorantly, it will burn the flesh 
and cau&e suffering. So it is in God^s spirit law, 
He has ordained that mankind may be saved from 
death, or annihilation, through a knowledge of 
His word and a compliance to its teachings 
Therefore, whether it be from a lack of knowledge 
or a want of conforming to its teachings, the re- 
sult will be the same, except that the man who 
knows and complies not to the requirement suffera 
in the mind because of a consciousness of his own 
unworthiness. This judgment question can be 
illustrated by some Scripture examples that will 
inake it plain. 

Take the children of Israel, who were God's 
chosen people, and God dealt with them through 
the law of Moses in a temporal way that they 
might be an example for His spiritual dealings 
under the new dispensation, or last day. God, 
through Moses, had led them out of Egyptian 



70 THE OPEN PEARI.Y GATES. 

bondage^ and given them a law, and instructed 
them how to liye and act, and gave them promises 
of blessings if they would be faithful, but warned 
them of the curse in case of disobedience (which 
curse was destruction). Now this was all done 
to teach important lessons, and is acknowledged 
by all Biblical scholars to be a type. Now for the 
application. Many of these Jews became unbe- 
lievers in the God who was directing all their 
ways; they wanted a God they could see; they 
became idolaters, and for this, God punished them 
then and there, in that land of the wilderness. 
But ^^ Affliction will not rise up a second time,-' 
for the Hebrew letter refers to them and says: 
^^For every disobedience and transgression they 
received a just recompense of reward.^^ So if they 
received a just recompense, there is no need, nor 
would it be just, to call these up to award further 
punishments. Jude also refers to them, saying: 
"The Lord having saved a people out of Egjrpt 
afterwards destroyed them that believed nof 

But there is one other point to which I wish to 
call attention. That is, that no other people be- 
sides the Jews come into this judgment, and why? 
Because the law was given to the Jews only, and 
they alone of all the nations were instructed in the 
knowledge of God's word, or had any promises for 
faithfulness. Another thought: The Jews were 
judged by that law, or according to the instruc- 
tioUs contained in it. 



ON THE JUDGKMEJNT. 71 

Then this gospel age being the last day, or the 
last and eyerlasting dispensation, we are to be 
judged by the law of Christ, or by his words, and 
the words of those of the Apostles who were au- 
thorized to speak for Him. And as the new law 
was given to the followers of Christ, and all the 
promises of God are in Christ, it follows con- 
clusively that the judgment will be of "His peo- 
ple/^ This is why the inspired Apostle wrote 
that "All things which pertain to life and God- 
liness are given to us through a knowledge of Him 
who hath called us to glory and virtue/^ A judg- 
inent being a part of that which pertains to the 
new life, it also is given through this knowledge, 
consequently the prophet was right when he said: 
^TEvil men understand not the judgment/^ They 
do not understand, and why? "He that believeth 
not on me is condemned already/^ But those who 
follow after God can understand how they are 
being judged spiritually, by the law of the spirit. 
This teaching must harmonize with all the Scrip- 
tures otL this subject, or it will show that there 
is an error somewhere. 

Isaiah said: "Behold my servant, whom I up- 
hold, my chosen one; I have put my spirit upon 
him. He shall bring forth judgment to the Gen- 
tiles; he shall not cry, nor life up his voice 
in the street until he have set judgment in the 
earth, and the isles shall wait for his law.'^ We 
find the above prophecy quoted by Matthew, and 



72 THE OPKN PEARLY GATES. 

in connection it is said: Jesus told them not to 
make him known yet^ that this Scripture might 
be fulfilled. So we see by this that there was no 
judgment to the Grentiles before this time, and 
this servant, which was the Christ, or word, 
clothed with flesh, was not to cry aloud until He 
had accomplished His work, or until this prophecy 
by Isaiah was fulfilled; that is, he brought judg- 
ment to /the Gentiles, and in the earth. He cried 
aloud, or lifted up His voice, when on the cross 
He cried : ''My God ! My God ! Why has thou 
forsaken me?^^ and said, ''It is finished.^^ 

But does it not say, "As it is appointed unto 
man once to die, and after this the judgment''? 
Yes, that is right. But did you not know that 
more than o'Uje death is spoken of in the Scrip- 
tures? And as "death'' means a separation, let 
us take the book and see what separation is most 
probable in the quotation from Hebrews. First, 
it was not necessary to inform man that he had 
to die a physical death, for he can learn, that from 
observation and the law of nature. But he cannot 
learn the will of God by observation, for no man 
knows this only as it is revealed to him. For this 
reason, this death must have reference to some 
other than physical dissolution. Turn to the let- 
ter to Eomans and read: "Shall we continue in 
sin, that grace may abound? God forbid; we who 
died to sin, how shall we live any longer therein? 
or are you ignorant that we who were baptized 



ON THE JUDGEMENT. 73 

into Jesus Christ were baptized into Ms death ?^' 
How was this? "We were buried therefore with 
Him through baptism into death, that like as 
Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of 
the Father, so we also should walk in newness 
of life/^ 

Christ was separated from the flesh, and like 
Him now we should walk in a new life. "Our old 
man was crucified with him, that the body of sin 
might be done away, so that we should no longer 
be in bondage to sin;^^ "But if we died with Christ 
we believe we shall also live with him.^^ If we died 
that the body might be put away, then it is no 
longer considered in the new man. For 
in Christ Jesus there is neither male 
nor female.^^ Paul continues: "Even so, 
reckon ye also yourselves also to be 
dead indeed unto sin (or unto this body of 
sin), but alive unto Christ.^^ Now the reason 
of all this is that flesh and blood cannot inherit 
the Kingdom, and the new man must grow up and 
develope in the spiritual life. So he has or- 
dained that this mortal body shall be made a sin 
offering, for he says: "Present your bodies as a 
livihg sacrifice, which is your reasonable service.^^ 
Well, it is reasonable to serve Him in spirit, and 
not try to lug in the old body of corruption, which 
he says cannot inherit the Kingdom. So when 
this old body is buried with Christ, where we put 
Him on, we are separated from the old, and rise 



74 THE OPKN PKARI.Y GATES. 

a new creation, to walk a new life; the old tMngs 
are passed away, or left behind, and all things 
become new to ns, for all things are now reckoned 
from a spiritual standpoint, for the command is 
to compare spiritual things with spiritual, and 
not spiritual with carnal, for he says: "Now we 
have been discharged from the law, having died 
to that wherein we were held, so that we serve in 
newness of the spirit, and not in oldness of the 
letter/' 

The mosaic law required certain washings, and 
purifications of the body; but we are discharged 
from that law, and have no rule, for the body, ex- 
cept to keep it in subjection. So Paul is consid- 
ering the law, asked, "Did that which is good be- 
come death to me? God forbid; but sin, that 
it might appear to be sin, by working death to me, 
through that which is good/' The law could 
not perfect men in the flesh, so he says, "What the 
law could not do, in that it was weak, through 
the flesh, God sending His Son in the likeness 
of sin, condemned sin in the flesh/' The old 
law regarded the flesh, therefore, it was weak 
through the flesh. "But you are not in the flesh, 
but in the Spirit if so be, that the spirit of God 
dwells in you, and if Christ be in you the body is 
dead because of sin, but the spirit is life, because 
of righteousness." The body then is separated, 
because it is made a sin offering. 



ON THE JUDGEMENT. 75 

Peter corroborates Paul in this. ^^Who his 
ownself bore our sins in his body upon the tree, 
that we having died unto sins might live unto 
Eighteousness.^^ 

One more quotation will suffice to show that a 
spiritual death;, was in the apostle^s mind where 
he said, "After death comes judgment.^^ 

"Once at the end of the ages hath he been mani- 
fested to put away sins by the sacrifice 
of himself, (that is by the sacrifice of that 
body of flesh) and inasmuch as it is appointed unto 
men once to die/^ and after this the judgment. 
So Christ having also been once offered to bear the 
sins of many, shall appear a second time apart 
from sin.^^ 

^ow here is the argument, if Christ offered 
his body for sin, being an example for us, then 
we are to offer ours, and thenceforth be reckoned 
entirely new creations; then the thought is im- 
pressed, that Christ shall appear a second time to 
them that look for Him, (and all his servants are 
commanded to "watch^^) apart from any body 
e. g., separated from any body that could be seen. 

In order to get a beter understanding of tl\is 
subject, we will take up a few of the prophecies, 
and some of the new testament teachings, and 
see whether or not, they corroborate the position 
we have set forth as the true one. Malachi, the 
last of the old testament writers, prophesying, 



76 THE OPEN PEARI.Y GATES. 

said^ ^^Behold the day cometh^ it burnetii as a 
furnace, and all the proud, and all the wicked 
shall be as stubble, and the day that cometh shall 
burn them up, it shall leave them neither root 
nor branch/^ 

But, ^'Behold, I will send you Elijah the 
prophet, before the great and terrible day of the 
Lord come/^ 

Has that day ever come? If so, then that day 
was to consume the wicked, so completely that there 
should remain neither root, nor branch of them. 
This teaching is in the symbol of a plant. The 
branches of a plant might be consumed, and the 
roots would put forth another stem, but if the 
root, and branch, too, be consumed, there is noth- 
ing left of it to come up a second time. Well, 
Malachi said; ^^Elijah the prophet would come 
before that day.^^ Has he come? The Christ 
began to teach his apostles that he was about to 
come in the glory of the Faither, v/ith his angels, 
so. His disciples asked Him, why say the prophets 
then, that Elijah must first come? The Jews were 
familiar with these prophecies, and they thought 
there had been no Elijah, as yet, consequently this 
coming of Christ was out of order, until Elijah 
did come. But Christ said, ^^Elijah has already 
comie, and they did with him as they pleased.^' 
^Then they understood it was John the Baptist 
he spoke of.^^ 



ON THK JUDGEMENT. 77 

Peter also speaking by the holy spirit, said, 
^This is that which was spoken by the prophet 
Joel. It shall come to pass in the last days/^ 
Then Paul in Eom. corroborates this time of 
judgment, and says, it is finished on earth, viz. : 
"As Isaiah saith, if the children of Israel, be as 
the sand of the sea, it is the remnant that shall 
be saved, for the Lord will execute his word upon 
earth, finishing it, and cutting it short in right- 
eousness.^ In this passage we have these four 
corroborative thoughts. 

First. The children of Israe? to be judged by 
the word. 

Second. This earth the place for executing the 
judgment. 

Third. Finishing it, no judgment to come 
after a literal death of the body. 

Fourth, the word to execute this judg- 
ment, Peter writing about a people who 
had turned away from God, said, "In 
covetousness shall they make merchandise 
of you whose sentence now from of old lin- 
gers not, and whose domination slumbers not.^^ 
The sentence of old was "The soul that sins, it 
shall die,^^ and Peter said. This sentence does 
not linger, and their damnation does not slum- 
ber. Then the damnation or condemnation does 
not slumber for aeons of years, as is usually 
taught. At least it is taught that it is to be at 



78 THK OPEN PBARI.Y GATKS. 

some indefinite time, and this teaching has been 
accepted generally as being correct, so far as I 
can trace in the creeds of men. This is an error. 
The judgment, and condemnation is going on now,, 
just as we are being saved now, by the word, for 
the word justifies, and the word condemns. 

Peter teaches that it is better never to have 
known the way of righteousness, than after hav- 
ing loio^vn it to turn away from the holy com- 
mandments. Why is it better? Because, God 
formed the body to fulfill a natural purpose, and 
gave the life to nourish, and sustain it for this 
purpose. Thus far, man has no pre-eminence 
over the beasts of the field, but God has given 
him a mind sufficien to grasp thoughts, and ideas 
about a future existence. But if he is never 
taught how he may attain to that future life, then 
the body passes back to the dust from whence it 
came, and no injustice is done to it, for it could 
not inherit a future state, since it is of the 
earth earthy. But when man^s mind has been 
taught, that there is a way to preserve his iden- 
tity, and the how *t may be done, then to realize 
that he is falling short of the requirements, is 
surely not a pleasant state to be in. But if the 
word of God is the seed to develop the new man, 
then until the mind takes in that word, and builds 
on it, there has been no spiritual possibilities for 
a judgment, and condemnation in that mind. So^ 



ON THE JUDGEMENT. 79 

it is better off than the mind which has received 
the seed, and germinated into a spiritual plant, 
and then had to perish, because of evil tendencies, 
and environments. So, if the word is the seed to 
develop into a new plant, and it grows, and bnilds 
upon the word, then should the plant fail to har- 
monize with the word, it would perish as a spirit- 
ual plant. 

So the Word is the foundation, and the completing 
power in this spirit structure. It judged in for- 
mier dispensations, for ^^Zechariah seen a flying 
roll (a word on parchm'ent), and the Lord said, 
^"^This (roll) shall be a curse to go over the face 
of the whole land, and the thief shall be purged out 
by it, and him that swears falsely by my name, it 
shall enter into their house and consume it, with 
the timbers and stones thereof.^^ 

What would the timbers and stones here men- 
tioned represent ? If the perishable errors of steal- 
ing and false swearing by the name of the Lord 
do not represent the timjbers, and the stones are 
just so much of the spiritual knowledge as these 
people had in their hearts, for Peter said, "Ye are 
living stones.^^ The word then would judge these 
living stones and cast them out. This all har- 
monizes with what we have been teaching. That 
they who have no knowledge of God will perish 
without any application of His law, and those 
who do know, and are disobedient, and become 



80 THE OPEN PEARI.Y GATES. 

•unbelieving, will also perish, or be separated a 
second time, which is the second death because 
they were in a dead state spiritually, before they 
knew God, and of course, if after they accept Him 
and come into union with His spirit, they should 
turn away and deny His power, then they will be 
in a dead condition again, or the second time. 

But David says ^^The Lord will not condemn the 
righteous, when he is judged ;^^ Paul also corrob- 
orates this. ^^If we discerned ourselves we should 
not be judged. But when we are judged, we are 
chastened of the Lord, that we may not be con- 
demned with the world.^^ The world, is already 
under condemnation, but if Christians discern the 
right ways of the Lord, they vfill not be con- 
denmed as is the world. God^s Word being the 
mjeans of discernment, any intelligent man can 
tell whether or not he is living in harmony with 
the revealed will of God, for the way is so plain 
that the wayfaring man shall not err therein.^^ 
And if he is out of harmony, the Word judges, 
and chastises him, and does it now, for Paul 
said, "Your patient endurance is a manifest token 
of the righteous judgment of God.^^ If a man en- 
dure trials and persecutions, and yet lives right, 
and maintains a good spirit, this is a token, or 
manifestation that he is a righteous man. 

Again Peter said, "God is ready,^^ and, "the 
tini,e is come for judgment to begin at the house 



ON THE JUDGEMENT. 81 

of God/^ Christ came to bring judgment to the 
Gentiles, in other words, to fulfill the Jewish 
law, take it out of the way, and substitute a uni- 
versal rule. But this was to be by the Word, and 
he told the apostles that he would send the spirit, 
to guide them into all truth, also, that whosoever 
heard their words, would be hearing his words; so 
after his perfection, he empowered them to teach 
this Word to all the world, and that their teaching 
should be binding. So the apostles taught by 
preaching and by letters to the different congre- 
gations, all things that were necessary for man 
to know, in order to attain to eternal life, and if 
any man refuse to hear these instructions, there 
is no other means, or authority by which a man 
can be saved from the condemnation of the world ; 
so Peter being among the last of the apostles to 
give these necessary instructions to the churches, 
wrote among other things, that, God was ready for 
the judgment, and the time had come for it to be- 
gin; because, before the church received these in- 
structions, or this word, they could not have been 
righteously judged by it. 

'^f you call upon God as a Father, who without 
respect of persons judges according to each man^s 
work, then pass the time of your sojourning in 
fear." This scripture instruction was to people 
who call upon God as Father. The Lord said, ^^I 
watch over my word to perform it, for as the rain 



82 THK OPKN PKARI.Y GATKS. 

comes down from heaven^ and waters the earth, 
and returns not^ so shall my word be^, it shall not 
return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that 
whereto I sent it/^ 

God sends the rain to water the earth, and it 
accomplishes His purpose, so also. He has sent 
His word to instruct, and to be a guide to His peo- 
ple, and to judge them, so it will not return to 
Him until it accomplishes His purposes. 

By His Word we stand approved before God, 
and by the same Word, we are cast out for evi''. 
for ithe same Word will show one class, (the obe- 
dient) approved, and the disobedient and faithless 
as those who have gone away from its teachings, 
so there is nothing else will take the place of this 
Word. Paul said, The word of the cross is to 
them that are perishing foolishness, but to us who 
are being saved it is the power of God; for "If is 
quick to discern the thoughts and intents of the 
heart.'' Then 

We have this teaching on the reign of Christ, 
in DanieFs Prophecy, "There was given him do- 
minion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all na- 
tions, and tongues, should serve Him, and His 
kingdom shall be everlasting and his dominion 
shall never pass away " There are two important 
thoughts to which we call attention in the above 
prophecy; Firt, All nations, and languages shall 
serve Him. But Paul teaches that "In Christ 



ON THE JUDGEMENT. 83 

Jesus is neither Jew nor Greeks that is no distinc- 
tion of nationalities^ but all are one : So the mean- 
ing of this is that some out of all nations and lan- 
guages shall serve Him^ just like in the commis- 
sion "Gro preach to all nations, he that believeth 
shall be saved/^ Some out of all nations believe, 
so all nations serve Him, but each praise Him in 
its own language, and that means -tKey are serving 
Him now while there is a distinction of languages. 

The second thought, Christ is to rule as King, 
over these nations, as Isaiah says, ^^Of the increase 
of his government there shall be no end/^ But 
'^He shall sit upon the throne of David, and of 
his kingdom, to establish it, and to uphold it, with 
judgment, and with righteousness, from hence- 
forth and forever/^ 

jfsTow this kingdom was to comimence with the 
giving of the Son, and the taking of the rule by 
Him, and the record says, "He taught as one hav- 
ing authority, and not as did the scribes/^ The 
scribes taught what was written in the law of 
Moses. But Christ was a new lawgiver, and com- 
nuenced to teach this law, and after His resurrec- 
tion He said all authority was given Him in 
heaven and earth; before this he had to keep the 
law until it was fulfilled. But since its fulfill- 
ment He has commanded His followers to go and 
teach under, or by His authority; so the govern- 
ment was entirely upon Him from the time of His 



84 THK OPKN PKARI.Y GATKS. 

resurrection^ and His rule will never cease but will 
continue to grow, and develop. This is also con- 
firmed by the apostles. "For of the Son he saith, 
thy throne, God, is forever and ever.^^ ISTo end 
to His reign. 

Now if the reign of Christ will never cease, 
When will there be a time for the judgment, if it 
is not already going on ? for "He must reign until 
ho Has put all enemies under His feet.^^ 

Again "Let Christ rule in your hearts.^^ Cer- 
tainly He is reigning in the hearts of His people, 
and must continue to rule there, until all ene- 
mies to God are driven out, or subdued, and the 
last enemy to overcome is death. So we get the 
victory over deaththrough Christ, for the conqueror 
of death will be able to shout, "0 grave, where is 
thy victory ?^^ The enemies too good are, anger, ly- 
ing, covetousness, evil-speaking, envy, etc. We 
must overcome these, before death or we do not 
have a promise that we shall overcome death, or 
the grave, for it is to be the last enemy to overcome. 
Then after we shall have put off the flesh and 
been perfected with Christ, he will turn us over to 
God, just as Christ, our elder brother, is subject 
to Him, "That God may be all, and in all.'' For 
God was excepted, when all things were put under 
the Christ. So, after we are raised we will no 
longer be subject to that "word'' which is a guide 
to His people while tabernacling here in the flesh. 



ON THK JUDGKMKNT. 85 

Tliiis we can understand how we are to be 
judged under the reign of Christ, and how His 
government will continue to increase as long as 
there are untaught men and women to teach, and 
how the change takes place with us, and not with 
God, or Christ, for they are the same yesterday, 
and today, and forever. 

In the Savior^s prayer. He said, ^^He had kept 
the apostles through the wood, and not one was 
lost orperished,^^ but the Son of Perdition, that the 
Scriptures might be fulfilled/^ This had refer- 
ence to "Judas the traitor,^^ who, although not 
physically dead at that tiuDe, Christ knowing his 
heart to be evil, passed judgment on him. 

This was an example of the judgment of the 
disobedient or unbelieving, and of the second death. 

This seems to m<e to be the most reasonable, as 
well as the most scriptural, and the most merciful 
way of judging, and punishing the wicked, of any 
way I have ever heard of, read of, or thought of. 
For since God, through His Word, has placed life, 
and death before mankind, and since some never 
have an opportunity of hearing, and believing, and 
others refuse to accept, because of unbelief, then 
for an all-wise and an all-powerful God to torture 
their bodies (as some say He will), which His 
Word teaches is not subject to the law of God, 
neither does it commit sin (for every sin is with- 
out the body.) Oh, how imreasonable ! how un- 



86 THE OPEN PEARLY GATES. 

just ! how unmerciful that would be ! The most 
brutal villain among mankind would sicken, and 
turn away in disgust, if he had his bitterest ene- 
my in his own power, and it were possible to keep 
torturing him, and that, too, while he was helpless 
to either resent it, or avert the punishment; the 
idea is foreign to the attributes of Grod, and re- 
pulsive to contemplate. But enough on this line. 

I thank God, this is not characteristic of the 
God whom I reverence, and adore. 

But will not God punish the murderer, the evil- 
doer, the unfaithful ? 

Let^s reason about this : 

Did you ever see a murderer, or a thief, or any 
other evil person, that you considered happy; would 
you like to be harrowed by a consciousness of evil 
by day and by frightful dreams by night? What 
is happiness, anyway, but a condition of the mind ? 
You cannot punish a body without a mind. 

There are none of us so perfect, but that we have 
been chastized, for thoughts, words, and deeds, too, 
which unguardedly we have allowed to m'ake up 
some of the events of our lives, for our spirits are 
not yet built up to the standard where we can fully 
control our desires and actions, but with man^s 
great desire to continue to exist, when he learns 
that this can be done only through a knowledge of 
God^s will and law, then to be conscious of falling 
below the standard fixed by God, as the limit for 



ON the; judgkmknt. 87 

acceptance^ is anything but a pleasant condition 
to be in; on the other hand, if a man learns the 
will of God, accepts it as his standard^ or guide, 
and is confident in being in harmony with the 
knowledge of that will, then he is free from fears, 
because the truth makes one free. So, if a man 
is free from the law of death, then death does not 
operate against him 

So, if it takes knowledge and obedience to attain 
to life, then ignorance, and unbelief, will bring 
death, and without this knowledge there is no 
spiritual life. 

If life to us, means to continue to exist as an 
individuality then death means a destruction of 
our individuality. 

If life is union with God, then death is a sepa- 
ration from God. 

But God says, ^^Do not I fill heaven and earth.^^ 
Then we cannot be separated from God by chang- 
ing places, so it must mean a change in condi- 
tions. Then it would mean a change from a 
living soul back to elementary parts, ashes to 
ashes, dust to dust, and the life back to the great 
power from whence it came. 

God builds up the body, and gives the intel- 
lect, without showing any form as to what He is 
like. Can he not dissolve the body and dispose of 
the mind, without making Himself visible? All 
these things are accomplished by an established 



88 THE OPEN PEARI.Y GATES. 

law, and His word is the power to do this in the 
realm of thought, and it surely accomplishes its 
purpose. 

In studjdng the Scriptures, it is like traveling. 
We start out before daylight, and our way is not 
clear, for we cannot discern landmarks, to be cer- 
tain we are going right, but as more light comes 
on our way, everything gets plain, and we feel 
confident, because we can see so many guide- 
marks, we know we cannot be mjistaken. Just so 
in this spiritual way, at first wie almost feel our 
way in the darkness, but we get a truth here, and 
another there, until we know there can be no mis- 
taking the way, it becomes so plain, and so many 
corroborating truths to testify with the good spir- 
it, which every follower ought to have, that all 
fears and doubts are cast aside, and the path of 
faith becomes one of pleasantness in the knowl- 
edge of these truths. 



FIFTH CHAPTEE 

THE EESUEEECTION. 

Eesurrect, "To give life again/^ Let us get 
this definition fixed in our minds, so that we may 
the better understand the question under consid- 
eration. There are many and conflicting theories 
taught concerning this important subject. 

So, I will make a statement of what I under- 
stand to be the correct and Bible teaching, and 
then bring up the testimony upon which I base my 
conclusions. 

There are two resurrections taught in the Bible, 
or rather there are two parts of man compre- 
hended in the resurrection. Ihis fact alone 
should cause us to reason as to which part of man 
is referred to, when studying this subject from a 
revealed standpoint. 

The first is a spiritual raising up; the second, 
pertains to the body. And of all that is taught in 
the Bible on this subject, but lUtlehsiS any refer- 
ence to the raising of the body. Because, Peter 



90 THE OPEN PEARLY GATES. 

said^ ^^AU things that pertain to life and Godli- 
ness is given to ns through a knowledge of God/^ 
So, the resurreoton being a part of what pertains 
to life, it is given through knowledge; therefore, 
those who have no knowledge have no part in the 
resurrection, but God has given the necessary and 
proper instructions to man to enable him to attain 
to this spiritual state. 

The new, or spiritual man, is the seed of the 
kingdom, and God has said He would give to 
every seed a body as it has pleased him. So, the 
new man has nothing to do with the changing, or 
the mlaking of a body for this spiritual seed; 
therefore, we conclude, that as man cannot shape, 
nor build this body, that God has not given any 
instructions along that line; on the contrary. He 
says ^^our vile bodies shall be changed, and fash- 
ioned like his glorious body,^^ but, "it does not yet 
appear what we shall be, but we shall be like 
Him{/^ So, we say, read, think, get in harmony 
with the Spirit's teachings, for only the truth 
miakes one free. 

Now in the giving of life again, the Bible idea 
is a change froniA one condition to that of another, 
and this teaching applies both to the spiritual 
raising up, and also to the body. Note the first, 
the change in spiritual conditions, Eph., "You 
hath Be quickened, who were dead through tress- 
passes, and sins.'' Here the apostle was writing to 



THE RESURRKCTION. 91 

Christians, who formerly had been alienated, or 
separated from God by sins, consequently they 
were reckoned in a dead state, or a separated con- 
dition, for he says, ^^Even when we were dead 
through our tresspasses. He quickened us togetTier 
with Christ and raised us with Him, and made us 
to sit together with Him in heavenly places in 
Chrst Jesus/^ There can be no question about 
this being a spiritual change, or a spiritual rais- 
ing, or resurrection, for the body is not changed, 
neither is it considered in this raising, for the 
body remans practically the same, except growth 
and decay, all through this life. Was this a model 
case for a lesson for dU, or was it special condi- 
tions to those Ephesians ? 

All unbelievers are in a condemned state, be- 
cause, "they have not believed on the only begot- 
ten Son of the Pather,^^ and they have no knowl- 
edge of a new life, nor of its power; consequent- 
ly, they have to be quickened out of that dead 
state, or condition, before they get this good spir- 
it, which is the new life, and the vital power in 
doing good. 

Paul calls this "A raising up ?^ 

Human nature, or practice, is just about the 
same the world over, and through all dispensa- 
tions. So it is written : "God has shut up all un- 
der disobedience, that He might have mercy upon 
all. So those Ephesians were formerly in a dead 



92 THB OPEN PEARI.Y GATES. 

state, just as others of the world are^ but God 
quickened them through the hearing, and accept- 
ance of the Gospel. 

They were raised out of a dead, or separated 
spiritual inactivity to an activie union with God. 

When Lazarus died, and Christ came to raise 
his body out of the tomb, Martha met Him, weep- 
ing, and said, ^^Lord, if thou hadst been here my 
brother had not died.^^ Christ answered, ^^If a 
man live and believes in Me^ though he die, yet 
shell he live again/^ 

Yes, Master, I know he will rise again in the 
resurrection at the last day/^ Christ said: "I am 
the resurrection and the life/' This being the 
last day or gospel dispensation. 

Christ is raising the dead now by giving them 
a good spirit, and eternal life, in place of an evil 
selfish spirit, and a temporary life. The change 
of the body will come at the end of the natural 
life, or at the planting of the natural body. How 
do I know this? Because, we have this prophecy 
in Hosean, "Come, let us return unto the Lord 
for He hath torn, and He will heal its he hath 
smitten, and He will bind us up After two days 
He will revive us, on the third day He will raise 
us up, and he shall live before Him.^^ 

Christ is our elder brother, was given to be an 
example for us, was bom into the world of wom- 
an, just like we were, lived as we are required to 



THK RKSURRECTION. 93 

live, was ^^tempted in all points like as we are/^ 
died as we have to die, was raised up the third day, 
brought life and immortality to light; that is He 
brought to light that which is not mortal, or sub- 
ject to death. If we must be like Him in every- 
thing else, then why not also in time and manner 
of His resurrection? 

The Scriptures teach that only the faithful 
will be raised up, and this applies to both a spirit- 
ual raising and to a raising of the body, for it is 
written, "No man can come unto me, except the 
Father who sent me draw him, and T will raise 
him up at the last day/^ It is written, ''They 
(those who come to me) shall all be taught of 
Gk)d/^ Then the untaught cannot come to God, 
but the mind or understanding is all that can lay 
hold on the promises of God; so it is the intel- 
lectual man who is comnianded to hear and be- 
lieve. This is also the man who sins; consequent- 
ly, this is the part of man to be begotten to a new 
life, or changed, and exalted to a higher life, with 
better aims, and purposes, and with better prom- 
ises. The promises for the body is only a long 
life on the earth in obedience to nature^s law. 
But the mind^s promise is eternal life. So, if we 
have this knowledge to put away evil, and lay hold 
on the new life, then at the end of faith, God will 
clothe this life with a glorious body, as he has 
purposed, for it is written, "// we believe that God 



94 THE OPKN PKARIvY GATES 

hath raised up Christ from the dead, He that 
raised up Jesus from the dead, will also quicken 
your mortal body by His Spirit that dwells in 
you.*^ But, suppose the body has not that spirit? 
If the mortal bodies of Christians are quickened 
iy the Spirit of Christ which dwells in them, then 
how are those bodies quickened who do not have 
this Sipirit ? Does God have two different means 
of accomplishing the same end? 

This quickening of the body is illustrated by 
Paul in I. Cor. A seed is taken to compare the 
raising up, thus: "Some man will say how are 
the dead raised up, and with what body do they 
come forth " Let^s make the comparison, 
The seed, or grain, must have a germ of life in it, 
or it will never come up, so the man must have a 
spirit of the Christ life in him, or he will never be 
raised. The seed must be planted, and dies as a 
seed; then a body comes from it, as it has pleased 
Gk>d to give it, but each seed has its own body; a 
grain of w^heat does not bring an okra stalk. So 
the body of man is planted, and becomes sepa- 
rated or disintegrated as a natural body, but if 
tthe germ of life, or Spirit of Christ dwelt in the 
body before it was planted, then God will raise up 
a body from the natural one, as it has pleased Him. 
But certainly, it will not be like this old body, for 
this body "is sown in corruption^^ — ^the new is 
^^raised in incorruption.'^ The old is a polluted 



THB RKSURRKCTION. 95 

body, the new cannot be polluted; the old is "sown 
in dishonor/^ his fellow man dreads a contact 
with it, but the new "is raised in glory /^ This 
represents quite a contrast, we shun the one, and 
we very much desire to be clothed with the other. 
The old "is sown in weakness/^ It is so weak 
that if his fellow man does not bury it out of sight, 
it will moulder away just like any other putrid 
flesh; but the new "is raised in power,^^ the old 
"is sown a natural body/^ just as nature formed 
it; we recognize it by its outward appearance or 
form, but the new "is raised a spiritual body,^^ 
the mortal eye cannot see its form or recognize it 
by any peculiar appearance. 

When the apostles thought they had seen Christ 
as a spirit body. He said to them, feel MJe, a spirit 
hath not flesh and bones as you see Me have. In 
other words, if His had been a spirit body there 
would have been no flesh nor bones nor temporal 
substances in its composition. So the body which 
can be seen and felt is but temporal, for it is 
tested by the temporal senses; again the old body 
"is sown a mortal body,'^ the new raised to im- 
mortality, that is, a body not subject to death; 
therefore, not even subject to a second death (as 
nojany erroneously teach. ) Now all these different 
changes pertain to all who are worthy to obtain 
the resurrection of the body, because all are treated 
alike if the conditions warrant a raising up of the 



96 THK OPKN PEARI^Y GATES. 

body, then this will be gaining a victory over the 
grave, for He said, '^When that which is corrupt- 
ible, shall have put on incorruption, and the mor- 
tal shall have put on immortality, then shall be 
brought to pass the saying, death is swallowed up 
in victory/^ Will the evil gain a victory over the 
grave ? 

The above teaching perfectly harmonizes with 
what the Savior taught by Luke, "They that are ac- 
counted worthy to obtain that world, and the 
resurrection from the dead can die no more; for 
they are equal to the angels of God, and are sons 
of Grod being sons of the resurrection/^ 
or are sons because God had judged 
them worthy of a resurrection. So every 
one must be worthy to obtain that world, and also 
be worthy of a resurrection before they will ob- 
tain either, "for, as concerning the resurrection. 
He is not a God of the dead, but of the living ;^^ 
so man must have the Spirit of Christ abiding in 
him.: that is, in his mortal body, or the grave will 
close over him forever. For God is not the God 
of the evil during this natural life, and "affiction 
shall not rise up a second time. He says "I am 
(now) the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.^' 
Then He is the God of all spirits who live in har- 
mony with his spiritual law. 

It is very clear that a man cannot live in har- 
mony with God in this life, who does not put away 



THE RESURRECTION. 97 

the evil thoughts, and evil desires. But to do this 
is a spiritual raising up, and all are subject to 
these conditions. There are no exceptions to this 
rule. Then, if one does not comply with these 
requirements, will God quicken him any way, by 
forcing him to have a new spirit whether the man 
desires it or not ? 

If you say yes, then God would be a respecter 
of persons, according to that reasoning. If you 
say no, then will God be a partial God by raising 
the body of one because he has the Spirit of Christ 
in him, which is the new life, and raising another 
body that has not this spirit life. I say this the- 
ory of raising the unworthy, is neither reasonable, 
nor scriptural. 

I will now notice John 5-28, which many think 
conflicts with this idea as set forth, but in truth 
it perfectly harmonizes with these teachings. 
^^The hour is coming in which all that are in the 
graves shall hear His voice, and shall come forth, 
they that have done good, unto a resurrection of 
life, they that have done evil, unto a resurrection 
of judgment.^^ The first thought I call attention 
to is, that this whole fifth chapter of John is treat- 
ing on a raising up to life, or a spiritual raising 
up, and not to a raising of the body, for in the 
twenty-fourth verse it reads, "He that heareth My 
words and believeth Him that sent Me, hath etern- 
al life, and cometh not into judgment, but has 



98 THE OPEN PEARI.Y GATES. 

passed from death into life; the hour comes and 
noiv is when the dead shall hear the voice of the 
Son of God^ and they that hear shall live/^ Here 
is the thought I wish you to get^ that Christ was 
sent to the Jews (His own), and was teaching 
them how to attain to life. He told them if they 
heard Him, and believed^ that that was eternal 
life to them, and if they continued faithful they 
would not come into judgment, or would not be 
condemned, but to fall away would bring a judg- 
ment upon them, as being unworthy. But Christ 
came only to the Jews, that He might fulfill the 
law; for the way had no't yet bo.en taught to the 
Gentiles, but ^^the hour was coming when all that 
were in their graves should come f orth/^ That is, 
all who were in a dead state would be called forth 
by the Word, or, that the Word would be preached 
to all nations, and they that heard would come 
forth, some to a raising up into eternal life, be- 
cause of their faithfulness, but others would be- 
come disobedient and unbelieving; these would 
come up for a judgment. This term, ^^in the 
grave,^^ is a figurative expression, for Isaiah, speak- 
ing of a rebellious people, who had separated 
themselves from God, says, they ^Valked in a way 
that is not good, after their own thoughts, which 
sit among the graves " 

But when was this time coming that all who 
walked after their own thoughts would be judged ? 



THE RKSURRBCTION. 99 

It was after the miiversal Spirit law, or Gospel, 
had heen preached to all nations, as a witness. 
^^Then shall the end come/' At the Savior^s first 
comling, the Gentiles could not have been judged 
by Moses^ law, because it was not given to them, 
nor for them; but, after the Gospel was preached 
to themi, and they accepted it as true, then they 
could be judged by this law in righteousness, or 
righteously. So Peter, who was among the last 
of the apostles sending instructions to the church- 
es, long after the Gospel had been preached to 
them, said, '^^That God was ready/^ All the neces- 
sary preparations were complete, and the time had 
com\e for judgment to begin at the Lord^s house. 
A part of these instructions were that, "As many 
as have sinned without law shall also perish with- 
out law, but as many as have sinned under the 
law, shall be judged by the law.'' That is, if they 
had no law, and had sinned, there is no applica- 
tion of law to make, they must perish ; but if they 
had a law, and the law said, *^^the soul that sins, it 
shall die;^^ then if the subject of this law sins, the 
law applies to him, and he also perishes. 

But some man will say, it is written, ''Every 
knee shall bow to me, and every tongue confess.^^ 
That is correct, but this Word is given to the chil- 
dren; for "Brethren, children of the stock of Abra- 
ham, and those that fear God, to us is the Word of 
salvation sent forth '' . . Consequently, "We must 



100 THE OPEN PEARI.Y GATES. 

all s^and before the judgment seat of Christ;^^ 
that is^ every one of God^s children must confess 
to Him^ and bow to His rule. 

Now as to the time of the resurrection, we have 
DaniePs prophecy, which is in harmony with what 
Christ taught; that is, that now is the time, for, 
^T am the resurrection, and the life.^^ Daniel 
said, '^At that time shall stand up the Prince, 
which stands for the children of nny people, and 
there shall be trouble (or suffering) such as never 
was before, and at that time, thy people shall be 
delivered every one that shall be found written in 
the book, and many of them that sleep in the dust 
of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, 
and some to shame and everlasting contempt.^^ 
The application is this, that no such suffering as 
Christ endured had ever been, nor ever would be 
again ; He gave His body as a sacrifice for the sins 
of the world, thus ending the animal sacrifices of 
blood for sins. Christ was the Prince, who was 
to stand for the children of His people, ^^and at 
that time (time of this offering which Christ made 
for sins) all that were found written in the Book 
were to be delivered " and not only this, but many 
of other nations that were '^^sleeping in the dust 
shall awake.^^ In other words this prophecy 
pointed to the coming in, and awakening of the 
Gentiles, some of whom would learn the will of 
God, and therefore awake to righteousness; others 



THK RKSURRKCTION. 101 

would learn God^s will, but ignore it, these to 
awake to a judgment, and condemnation would 
pass on tliem,because the Savior said he that liv- 
eth and believeth on Me shall never die, so the 
man who accepts, and thus comes into this life and 
continues a believer, shall never die, but the class 
Daniel prophesied of, awoke from the dust, which 
is expressed by Paul thus, "Awake, thou that 
sleepest, and arise from the dead, and G-od shall 
give thee life/^ But at that time, Daniel did not 
understand these things, and the angel told him to 
shut the book and seal it to the time of the end, 
or until these wonderful things were fulfilled. But 
now those things are no longer a sealed book, for 
Luke said, "These be the days of vengeance, that 
all tilings which are written may be fulfilled/^ 

Daniel asked, '^How long will it be to the end of 
these wonders^^ ? The answer : "When they have 
made an end of breaking in pieces the power of the 
holy people, all these things shall be finished/^ At 
the coming of Christ, the Jews had no political 
power; it had been taken from them and they ex- 
pected Christ to restore that power, by taking the 
kingdom and ruling in a temporal way, but H« 
said his kingdom was "not of this world,^^ or not 
of the temporal. So when Christ was crucified 
that fulfilled the Jewish or Mosaic law. Took it 
away from them, and so their spiritual power was 
all gone except the promise of God, that He would 



102 THK OPEN PKARI.Y GATES. 

hear their petitions where His name was recorded 
in the temple. But about the year A. D. 70 the 
temple, and all that pertained to the temple wor- 
ship were destroyed, so this was the last part of 
the Power God had ever given to them as a holy 
people. This time of Destruction of Jerusalem 
ended all that Daniel was prophesying about, and 
among other things prophesied of of, was, this 
raising up to eternal life for some, and condemna- 
tion to others. 

So important was the time for the fulfillment of 
this prophecy, that another way of reckoning was 
given to Daniel; "But none of the wicked shall 
understand: but they that be wise shall under- 
stand.^^ Who are the wise but the reverse of the 
wicked? viz. the righteous. Here are the reckon- 
ings. "Fromx the time that the continual burnt of- 
ferings shall be taken away, and the abomination 
that makes desolate set up, there shall be a thou- 
sand two hundred and ninety days.'^ 

Evidently the continual burnt offering was that 
offering required by G-od in the temple worship, 
because, that was a part of the Mosaic ritual; and 
if God gave it, man could not take it away. But 
Christ taught as one having authority, and not 
like the scribes, and He also said, "As he received 
of the Father, so he taught;^^ so it follows conclu- 
sively, that whatever the Christ taught, was author- 
ized by God. Thus in teaching the new, and bet- 



THK RKSURRKCTION. 103 

ter way the burnt offerings were not included in 
any instructions given by Christ; therefore they 
were taken away by authority of God himself. 
Well f romi the time of this new teaching, unto the 
setting up of the abomination which made the 
Jews desolate was 1290 days. The removal of the 
law, and ordinances was what made the Jewish 
Church desolate, and when they arrested Christ to 
put Him out of the way, that was the beginning, 
or setting up of that abominable desolation which 
was completed at His crucifixion. The gospel 
writers say Christ taught for the space oi about 
three, and one-half years; 3 1-2 years is 1278 
days, but the exact time according to Daniel was 
1290 days. What next? "Blessed is he that 
waiteth, and cometh to the thousand three hun- 
dred and five and thirty days.'^ What time does 
this refer to, and why a blessedness on the man 
coming to it? The record in Acts says, the 
Christ, "Continued with them going in, and out, 
and teaching for the space of ah out forty days 
after His resurrection/^ before He was received 
up. Well take the 40 days He was with them 
after His raising up, and add to this, the two 
days during His arrest and trial, and three days 
in the grave, and you have forty-five days, which 
added to the 1290 of His teaching before this 
and you have 1335 days of the manifestation of 
His power, and authority that could be seen, or 



104 THK OPEN PBARI^Y GATES. 

while He was clothed with the temporal, but now, 
although just as surely with us, as He was at that 
time. He is in the unseen, or eternal state, so it 
is equivalent to saying blessed is the man who 
waits for his Lord, and comes to this perfected 
state, or recognizes Him in this state, through the 
Word. 

At first thought there seems to be a discrepancy 
between this 1290 days^ time as given by Daniel, 
and the 1260 days given by John in the apocalypse. 
But when we remember that Daniel was teaching 
about the "Prince,^^ and the time He taught as 
one having authority, and that John spoke of Him 
in connection with the twelve stars, or twelve apos- 
tles, and how that it was some time after His bap- 
tisnx where He was acknowledged as a Son with 
power, by God Himself, before Christ chose these 
twelve stars who were seen with Him by John, this 
would give thirty days from the time the Christ 
commenced to teach authoritatively until He had 
His twelve helpers, or messengers with Him. 
Therefore instead of being at variance, they are 
each correct statements. 

Peter, in Acts said to the Jews, "You denied 
the Holy One, and killed the Prince of Peace, but 
you did it ignorantly, as did also your rulers, but 
the things which God foreshowed by the mouth 
of all His prophets He has fulfilled,^^ and again, 
"For they that dwell in Jerusalem, and their 
rulers, (who were the Eomans) because they knew 



THK RKSURRKCTION. ' 105 

Him not, nor the voice of the prophets which 
are read every Sabbath, fulfilled them by condemn- 
ing Him/^ And concerning this fulfillment, and 
raising up Matthew said, ^^Mlany of the graves 
were opened, and many of the saints arose, and 
appeared to miany/^ So Daniel not only prophe- 
sied that this would be the time, at the coming of 
the Prince, but here is an instance recorded where 
immortality was literally demonstrated. It is evi- 
denltthat those who came forth from the graves, and 
appeared in the city, were raised up, and appeared 
for the purpose of showing that God had fulfilled 
His promise made through the prophets, that God 
would raise up His people, and bring them to- 
gether. But Christ must be the first to bring life, 
and immortality to light, so after His resurrection, 
other saints were raised, and appeared to many 
witnesses. The memory of these saints had been 
preserved no doubt, just as man can preserve a 
grain of wheat, for an indefinite time by taking 
proper care of it, so that it will germinate, and 
come forth. These were part of a hundred and 
forty-four thousand John said were redeemed out 
of the twelve tribes of Israel . 

^"^All the promises of God are in Christ " and the 
resurrection of the body being a prom- 
ise to His people, will not God per- 
form His promise if man coniplies with the 
requirements? Man becomes helpless in death. 



106 • THK OPEN PEARI.Y GATKS. 

but God will not forsake him, but will raise him 
in this the last day. Paul had this understanding 
about this raising of the body, for he wrote to Tim- 
othy : ^^I am, already being offered up, and the time 
of my departure is come; I have fought a good 
fight; I have kept the faith; I have finished my 
course; hence forth there is laid up for me the 
crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the right- 
eous Judge, shall give me at that day/^ At what 
day? Why, He is discussing the time of his de- 
parture, and that time had come, and His crown 
ready : ^'^And not to me only, but to all them also 
who love His appearing. Or, who have loved His 
appearing is a better rendering. This crowning is 
for all who live righteously, but not a promise to 
the wicked, except the curse of destruction. As a 
further evidence that Paul expected, and believed, 
that at the end of this life the perfected state would 
com_e to him, or rather, he would come into it, to 
the Phillipians he wrote : ^^I am in a strait betwixt 
two (conditions), having a desire to depart, and 
be with Christ, for it is far better, but to aiide in 
the flesh is more needful for your sake.^^ 

We can appreciate PauPs eondition, as a teacher 
the church needed the instructions which Paul was 
authorized to give, and they needed the example 
of his God-like life, and his encouraging words of 
cheer and comfort, but Paul Icnew it was far better 
to live with Christ in a perfected state than to be 
hampered by the flesh, although he knew that God 



THE RKSURRKCTION. 107 

was always with him^ for at one time he said : ^^At 
my first defense no man stood with me, but God 
mas with me/' In the flesh man is subject to 
temptations, sufferings, trials, but Paul was will- 
ing to endure all these to complete the will of the 
Master. 

John in the Apocalypse saw one hundred and 
forty-four thousand redeemed ones out of the 
twelve tribes of Israel; these were saved before the 
Gospel was preached to the Gentiles, for 
since that time all come into Christ alike, 
where there is neither Jew nor Greek, but 
these 144,000 were saved because they 
had complied with the law of God un- 
der the former dispensation; for "they follow 
the lamb whithersoever Be goeth/^ And each 
one is represented as being "Pure as a chaste vir- 
gin/^ Then after this tim^e, John "Saw an in- 
numerable host, out of every language, and tongue, 
and nation^^ represented in the throng of the saved, 
but these are those spiritually raised, for they are 
of all languages, and nations. 

But Paul spoke of the raising of the iody to 
the Phillipians thus : "If by any means I may at- 
tain to the resurrection from the dead. (Not that 
I have already obtained or heen made perfect/') 
"I count not myself yet to have apprehended, but 
one thing I do, I press on toward the goal for the 
prize of the high calling in God.^^ In this in- 



108 THE OPEN PEARI.Y GATES. 

stance Paul said he was not yet made perfect; in 
other words^ he had not yet been crowned as victor, 
but he expected at the time of his departure to be 
perfected^ and that would be his crowning for 
Eighteousness and fidelity to the "Word. 



y> 



SIXTH CHAPTEE 

THE CITY OF GOD. 

"There is a river, the streams whereof make 
glad the city of God/^ 

Let us ask, in order to direct our thoughts, What 
Kind of a city can this be, that is made glad? 
Also, what are the streams which constitute the 
river that rejoices this city? 

As we have shown, the new man, or new creation, 
or the man in Christ, represents a condition ; there- 
fore, the city of God, or the dwelling place, for 
this conditional man, must pertain to, or conform, 
to these conditions; in other words, if the new man 
is spiritual, then this city must, of necessity, per- 
tain to the spiritual protection, and comfort, of 
this new man, and the river must be an influence, 
which refreshes, builds up, nourishes, and makes 
glad the inhabitants of the city. 

This city is referred to under various appella- 
tions, just as is the Son of God. He is called The 
Branch, Savior, Word, Counsellor, etc., etc. So 



110 THK OPEN PBARI.Y GATES. 

the city of God, is refeired to as the Garden, House, 
Building, Field, Temple, Vineyard, etc. 

And the river is the Word of God, which is the 
wall, or protection, for this city, the nurturing 
power; that which develops it, and in which it re- 
joices. Now let^s go back, and take the record, 
and apply to it these thoughts, and see what a 
beautiful and harmonious lesson we get. In Gene- 
sis, it is said, ^^God planted a garden and placed 
man in it, to dress it, and heep it.^^ Very well. 
The Savior said: ''Every plant that my heavenly 
Father hath not planted shall be rooted up.^^ The 
opposite to this is that every plant which God did 
plant will stand. So this garden, being a plant of 
God, it will stand. Therefore, out of this planting 
the Lord sent forth a river, and this will abide 
also. 

This river was parted into four heads. A little 
thought here will show that this could not pertain 
to the temporal, or natural, because in the natural 
order, a river with four heads will converge into 
one stream, but this one came out from one source, 
and diverged, or parted, into four heads. Now this 
garden is the same as God's vineyard, or field, or 
house, and His word has gone out from Him 
through this in four different heads, or different 
methods of teaching, because through teaching He 
has always made and saved the spiritual man. 

So the first head, or stream, of this river was 



THK CITY OF GOD. Ill 

Pison^ which means ^^a flowing river/^ and is the 
Word given to the Patriarchs^, and it flowed on un- 
til the coming of the new and universal covenant, 
because Paul in speaking of this Word, said : ^^The 
law was added because of transgressions/^ Well, 
if the law was added it must have been put in with 
what was already in force. Then the Mosaic law 
represents the second head or a stream, which was 
added to the first teachings. 

Hiddekel was the third head, and corre- 
sponds to the Word by the prophets, for 
Daniel, in one of his prophetic visions, says, 
''1 was by the river Hiddekel.^^ The fourth 
head is Euphrates, and represents the Word under 
this Gospel dispensation, which will never cease, 
but it flows on forever, and no man can cross over 
it. The Lord told Abraham, '^1 have given you 
this land from the river of Egypt (which means 
darkness), unto the great river Euphrates.^^ By 
faith all become sons of Abraham, so Abraham is 
the father of all the faithful, for God is unchange- 
able, and those were saved iy faith, and these 
through faith; so from darkness, or the beginning 
of spiritual light, unto this Gospel day, the faith- 
ful are represented as Abraham^s children. Abra- 
ham believed God, and it was accounted unto him 
for righteousness, so the Lord said, *^^In thee and 
in thy seed shall all nations be blessed,^^ and only 
those of faith are reckoned as seed. 

Able is an example of the faithful, under 



112 THE OPEN PKARI.Y GATES. 

the first head, or dispensation, for, he of- 
fered a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, because 
he offered it in faith/^ So the Lord told Cain, if 
his sacrifice was not accepted "It was because sin 
laid at his door/^ Thus the seed of faith possessed 
the Lord^s land, or tillage, from darkness to the 
perfect light. 

The fourth, and last, head, or stream, coming 
fromi God to water His garden, is Euphrates, and 
corresponds to the teachings of Christ, and con- 
cerning which Daniel, the prophet, said, "It should 
never end.^^ 

Ezekiel also corroborates this application, and 
subdivision of the Word, in the forty-seventh chap- 
ter. In this, Ezekiel was prophesying about the 
Lord's house. "Whose house are we,'' and he 
said. He brought me hach to the door of the 
house, and the water issued out from under the 
threshold." This is equivalent to saying He 
brought him to see the entrance way into the 
Lord's house, or the beginning of the Lord's house, 
and that waters issued from it there, e. g., issued 
from the Lord's house at the beginning, to make 
glad His people. Then the Lord brought him "a 
thousand cubits," and caused him to pass through. 
The "'waters were to the ankles." The first head 
or stream of God's Word, was to be supplanted by 
another, so he passed over it, for, in course of time, 
the other side of that sub-division would be reached. 
Again "He brought him a thousand cubits, and he 



THE CITY OF GOD. 113 

passed through/^ It came to the knees. This sec- 
ond head, or Mosaic law, added volume, but it, too, 
would pass out, and give place to the greater end 
better covenant. So it was passed through 
also. ^^ Another thousand cubits,^^ and ^^the 
ivaters were to the loins/' These prophets taught 
things that concerned the body they told 
how the new covenant would be. The first teach- 
ings were only to parts of the human race, they 
represented members, but under the universal Gos- 
pel teaching, we are the body. So the prophesies 
reached to it. Again another thousand cubits, 
and, behold! ^^A river which could not he passed 
through/' This fourth head, or stream, will never 
be passed through. 

Then the Lord caused the prophet to return to 
the river bank, and this is what he saw: "And by 
the river, upon the bank thereof, on this side, and 
on that side, shall grow every tree for meat, whose 
leaf shall not wither, neither shall the fruit there- 
of fail ; it shall bring forth new fruit every month, 
because the waters thereof issue out of the sanctu- 
ary; and the fruit thereof shall be for meat, and 
the leaves thereof, for healing/^ 

Will the reader turn to Eev. 22 1 and 2, and read 
about this river, as John saw it, and see how near- 
ly alike it is to this one seen by Ezekiel in prophecy. 

All the teachings of the Word under the Old 
Testament, are in metaphors, symbols, figures and 



114 th:^ opkn pkari^y gatks. 

parables; so we must, to get their full meaning, fit 
the figures. And this we are enabled to do only 
by comparing one prophecy, or teaching, with some 
other, or others, teaching about the same things, so 
let^s see what Zach. teaches about these living wa- 
ters : ^^n that day living waters shall go out from 
Jerusalem/^ That day has reference to the Gospel 
dispensation. Did living waters go out from Jeru- 
salem? Christ told the Samaritan woman: ^^If 
thou wouldst have asked Me, I would have given 
you living waters/" This living water 
was explained in another place to mean, 
"the doctrine He taught.^^ So this fully 
justifies us in making this application 
to the teachings or word of God, and shows how 
God has added here a little, and there a little to 
get His people instructed in the right ways of 
truth and righteousness. But now, the whole will 
of God has been revealed to us in plain language, 
instead of the symbolic. So it is called the day, 
or light. 

From this view point we can see wherein David 
was correct when he said, "There is a river, the 
streams whereof malce glad the city of God.^^ Not 
that the time would come, when there should be a 
river for gladdening the hearts of God^s people, 
but, that river existed in David^s time, and will al- 
ways be with the holy people for the purpose of 
bringing forth new plants, and developing and 



THE CITY OF GOD. 115 

perfecting those already growing by its power and 
influence. 

Many people believe that the city of God is yet 
a thing of the future, but Isaiah cries, "Who among 
us shall dwell with the devouring fire?^^ Then he 
answers the queston, "He that walketh righteously, 
and speaketh uprightly, look upon Zion the city 
of our solemn assemblies. There the Lord shall be 
with us in miajesty, the Lord is our Judge, the Lord 
is our King, He will save us; the people that dwell 
therein shall be forgiven their sins.^^ That is the 
people who dwell in Zion, the holy city, dwell with 
Grod, and he will forgive their sins. Again he 
says, "I have raised man up in righteousness, I 
will nmke all his paths straight^ lie shall huild My 
city/' 

Then, if man is to build or constitute the Lord^s 
city, when will he do this, if not in his probation- 
ary state ? Again Isaiah says, "Awake, put on thy 
strength. Oh, Zion ! put on thy beautiful garmients. 
Oh, Jerusalem! the holy city." The terms Zion 
and Jerusalem, both represent the church, so it is 
emiphaticaly called the Holy City God has at no 
time given instructions to man, as to what His 
people should do after they put off this tabernacle 
of flesh, but here he commands his people to put 
on their beautiful garments; so this must be done 
now, for John says, "The white robes are the right- 
eous acts of the saints." Again Isaiah says, "I have 
set watchmen on thy walls. Oh, Jerusalem ! They 



116 THK OPEJN PBARI.Y GATKS. 

shall never hold their peace day^ nor night, you are 
the Lord^s remembrancers; take no rest; go through 
the gates, prepare the way, say to the daughter of 
Zion, behold thy salvation cometli, and they shall 
call them the holy people, sought out,a city not 
forsaken/^ 

In this, the prophet said his people should never 
hold their peace, but should cry out in a voice of 
warning both day and night. Why not hold their 
peace? Because, ^^they are the Lord^s remem- 
brancers/^ Then he commands them to go through 
the gates, and prepare the way. But what must 
these remembrancers say ? Say to the daughter of 
Zion, behold thy salvation cometh. This could 
not mean any preparations after our perfecting, 
for there will be no need to cry out and warn, for 
all will be equal to the angels, and can die no 
more, after we shall have put off the mortal, and 
put on the immortality. But this crying out, is 
to be done continuously, and now is the accepted 
time. There is no day so dreary, and no night so 
dark, but that God^s people can teach the ignorant, 
and warn the wayward, in this way of righteous- 
ness. *^^They shall be called the holy people, a citj 
not forsaken.^^ 

We will now turn to the New Testament, and 
see if its teachings about this holy city corroborate 
those of the prophets. In Matt., Christ said of 
His followers : "You are the light of the world a 
city set on a hill cannot be hid.^^ "Let your light 



THK CITY OF GOD. 117 

SO shine that others seeing your good works may 
be constrained to glorify your Father^ which is in 
heaven/^ God^s children, or city, occupy a very 
exalted position, they are always supposed to dwell 
on a higher spirit plane than any other people; 
consequently, as they are thus exalted, their light 
cannot be hid. Again in Luke, He said, "0, Je- 
rusalem ! thou that stonest the prophets, and killest 
them that are sent unto thee.^^ Here Jerusalem, 
which is the name of the city of God, or people of 
God, to whom the prophets and others had been 
sent. He wept over them, saying, ^^If thou hadst 
known the things that make for peace, but now 
they are hid from thine eyes " Paul refers to this 
fact, in the Eoman letter, about the eyes of the 
Jews being closed, and their ears dull of hearing. 
As the truth is all that can save mankind from 
punishment, and oblivion, and since the Jews re- 
jected the Word of God, which is truth, Christ 
wept because of their unbelief; knowing that the 
time was coming when even the law would be taken 
away, and they would have nothing as a guide, 
since they rejected His teaching. 

•^Abraham looked for a city whose builder and 
nmker is God.^^ That is, Abraham looked for that 
city, or the building of faith which God had prom- 
ised him;, saying, ^^In thee, and in thy seed, shall 
all the nations be blessed.'^ But Christ said, Abra- 
ham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it, and was 
glad.^^ So it is written in Heb., ^^God hath pre- 



118 THE OPKN PBARI.Y GATES. 

pared for them a city/^ That is, he has already- 
prepared them a city. Then the contrast is made be 
tween the city of God, in the literal, or law age, and 
the conditions under the new dispensation. It 
saith : You have not come to a miount that may he 
touched, but you have conte to Mount Zion, the 
city of the living God " 

From all these scriptural teachings it is plain 
that the city of God is a spiritual house, for an 
habitation of God, who is Spirit. God is the Tem- 
ple in this holy city. But, if we were to imagine 
a spirit, living within literal walls and gates as 
we see them now, and with literal gold for streets 
and water as we use it, and literal trees, with fruits 
and leaves, this would be to go back from the spir- 
itual and unhampered, to the temporal, and limr 
ited; therefore, this is unreasonable, and untrue. 
But it is written, "Here, we have no abiding) city." 
Certainly here in the earthy, we do not continual- 
ly abide, for the flesh is temporal and corrupt ; con- 
sequently, God has said: "My Spirit shall not 
strive with man forever, for that he is aim flesh." 
In other words, because man is composed of flesh 
here, the Spirit will not forever strive in him, but 
his day for this abiding, shall be limited to about 
one hundred and twenty years. 

Next we will show the entrance way, or gates 
into this city. Under the Jewish economy, where 
God had selected one particular nationality to 
prove His word, and illustrate to man his fore- 



THE CITY OF god: 119 

knowledge, and His purposes; at that time, the 
way was through the twelve tribes. That is, no 
others outside of those twelve tribes were of the 
chosen, except where one of the tribes bought in, 
or brought the strangers in,. In that case they 
were circumscribed, and reckoned as of the chosen. 
These twelve tribes were named after the twelve 
sons of Israel, and in Eevelations it says : ^^At each 
one of the twelve gates was an angel named after 
the twelve tribes of Israel.^^ But Ezekiel, in de- 
scribing this city, gives twelve gates and named 
each one after one of these tribes, and said, each 
one ''shall have one portion.^^ Now this was a 
type of what was to be in the spiritual city; so let^s 
make the application. The new city i-i built upon 
the foundation of the twelve apostles, Christ being 
the chief corner stone. So the new structure must 
be spiritual throughout, for it is built upon a spir- 
itual foundation, and, of course, if it is commenced 
with the spiritual, it will not be completed with 
the temporal. So Paul says of this house: ''We 
are the household of God being built upon the 
foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus 
Christ Himself being the chief corner stone.^^ So 
if we. Christians, are being built on this founda- 
tion, then the household is continually growing, 
and this is what Daniel said: ^^Of the increase of 
His government there shall be no end.^^ Is Christ 
a literal stone? And the apostles and prophet^.. 
what are they? ^^In whom you, also, are builded 



120 THE OPEN PEARI.Y GATES 

together (with them), for an hahitation of God in 
the Spirit/^ Now let^s see if we can point out 
twelve spiritual gates to this city, each to have 
one portion, as indicated by the type. Peter said : 
''All things that pertain to life and godliness, are 
given through knowledge ;^^ then we did not have 
something that pertained to this new life before 
we were taught about it. So after we are taught 
how, we must then add faith, virtue, knowledge, 
temperance, godliness, brotherly kindness and char- 
ity, or love. 

"For, so an abundant entrance shall be minis- 
tered unto you, into the everlasting kingdom^ of our 
Lord and Savior.^^ Now if the entrance will be 
ministered by the adding of these to faith, then 
let^s see what we have. Briefly, without making 
any argument as to why these constitute faith, it 
is taught: 

First, man must hear, and learn what is the will 
of God, or be taught. 

Second, he must believe what is taught concern- 
ing His will. 

Third, he must repent of his sins; this is a turn- 
ing away from or ceasing to practice sin. 

Fourth, he must be baptized, or put away the 
fleshly, and be reckoned as spiritual. 

Fifth, he must confess the Christ. If a man 
does not think he has Christ how can he confess 
Himi?. These five entrance ways constitute the 



THK CITY OF GOD. 121 

faith to which he must add the other seven graces 
already enumeTated. 

James said : ^^Devils believe, and tremble/^ They 
also, confessed that they knew Christ, but they 
could not truthfully confess that Christ was abid- 
ing in them. Therefore, John teaches that we 
must confess that Christ has come in our flesh. 
Then we have an example of the Pharisees, who 
rejected the counsel of God against themselves, be- 
cause they refused to be baptized. So, it takes a 
full and free compliance with the counsel of God 
to constitute acceptable faith. 

Then the twelve gates, or portals, into the Lord^s 
house or kingdom, are enumerated thus: hearing, 
believing, repentance, baptism], confession or ac- 
knowledging Him as ruler, virtue, knowledge, tem- 
perance, patience. Godliness, brotherly kindness 
and charity. Now, these are all character sties, or 
requirements, that man can perform here and now, 
and it is his duty to do this, because the prophet 
said: "Go through the gates, prepare the way.^^ 
And Peter says : "If you do these things you shall 
never fall.^^ lATiy not? For, by the doing of 
these, gives us an entrance, abundantly into His 
kingdom, or city. 

It is written, "The fruit of righteousness, is a 
tree of life.^^ This, then, is the kind of treo that 
flourishes in the streets and highways of the T/ord^s 
city, and along the bank of the river of life. 
Eighteous acts, guided by a knowledge of God^s 



122 THE OPEN PBARI^Y GATl^S. 

Word. Thus, within this city, comes the noblest 
thoughts, the highest aspirations, and the happiest 
hours that are allotted to mortal man. 

Christ opened up this way, and set an example 
for us to follow after. So He opened, no man can 
shut these gates that enter into the celestial city, 
and there is no respect of persons with God, but in 
eviery nation, and among all classes of people, he 
that believes His Word, and works righteousness, 
or does the commands, is accepted of Him. 

The invitation has gone forth to all men to hear 
and accept the truth, and to enter into union and 
fellowship with this spiritual building, as a living, 
active stone in it, that he may be a partaker of all 
its blessings; not only in this life, but of the prom- 
ise of being perfected in the future life, but even in 
this probationary life, there are blessings, and liap- 
piness in the knowledge given by the God Spirit, 
and the co-operation in furthering His plans and 
work, that it is impossible to attain to from any 
ether source. 

The longings for a continued existence, here 
meet a satisfactory and restful state, the fear of 
punishment and oblivion passes away from the 
mind of the man who enters heartilv into the 
Lord^s service, and the vforld beholds? in admii'a- 
tion a life so well controlled, that no evil thing can 
truthfully be said against it. Thus, "^'by their 
fruits you shall know them.^^ 

Isaiah grew exultant over this state in God\s 



THK CITY OF GOD. 123 

children and their beautiful example, and ex- 
claimed : ^^Go through;, go through the gates pre- 
pare the way of the peoples. Cast up, cast up the 
highway, gather out the stones, lift up an ensign 
for the people; behold, the Lord has proclaimed to 
the ends of the earth, say to the daughters of Zion, 
behold, thy salvation cometh/^ 

In Eev. the angel told John to ^Tome up hither 
and I will shew you the iride, the Lamb^s vnfeJ" 
"And he shewed me the Holy City, the ISTew Jeru- 
salem/^ The church is the bride of the lamb; so 
in showing the church, or bride of Christ, he also 
showed the holy city, and this city was prepared as 
a bride adorned for her husband, just as the 
church, or followers of God, should be at all times; 
attired in garments of righteousness, so that she 
will be well pleasing to her husband. "Then he 
shewed me a pure river (or waters) of life, going 
out from the throne, and on either side was the tree 
of life.^^ This water of life is the Word of Christ, 
and wisdom being the tree of life, represents the 
Word, or wisdom of God on this side under the 
new covenant, and on that side under the Jewish 
dispensation. 

So the wisdom of God was the tree of life before 
the manifestations of the Word in the 
flesh, and it is the tree of life since the 
manifestation, and will always remain, or 
abide to the tree of life to all who lay 
hold on it, and the leaves represent the influence 



124 THK OPBN PE^ARIvY GATES. 

of the church upon the world. The nations are to 
be healed by its influence^ of breathings, or speak- 
ings. 

Ifow to sum up; God has, through His people, 
sent a message to the world even by those who have 
been moved as the Holy Spirit gave them wisdom 
and utterance, and this teaching is from a Spirit, 
through good spirits, and for spiritual ends. There- 
fore, it does not pertain to the temporal, except 
where the temporal is incidentally mentioned, and 
even then it is often used to illustrate some spir- 
itual truth. But man is so prone to reason from 
a temporal standpoint, that he often tries to blend 
the temporal mth the spiritual, or misapply the 
teaching entirely by using the temporal as the part 
of man, that the lesson pertains to; when we are 
commanded to ^^compare spiritual things with spir- 
itual.'^ We know, the Word of God is spiritual; 
therefore, let us not compare, or apply it to the 
temporal^ except when it is clearly indicated to be 
thus applied for a spiritual lesson. 

I want to again impress this thought by a few 
references, which seem to me to be fundamental 
truths, to which all others must harmonize. 

First, God is Spirit. 

Second, that all visible things are temporal; that 
is, they are changing and passing away, and only 
the unseen are eternal. 

Third, that the spirit part of mian, or new man, 
is entirely distinct from the fleshly. I mean by this 



Tun CITY OF GOD. 125 

that in reckoning with^ or taking account of man, 
that there must of necessity be a distinction made 
to understand the Scriptures. That the flesh, nor 
anything that pertains to the flesh, is not reck- 
oned as a part of the new man. Therefore, Paul 
said, "If any man be in Christ, he is a new crea- 
tion.^^ All things that pertain to this man in 
Christ, must be of the new. 

Fourth, that if God is Spirit, and invisible, then 
the new man is equally invisible, for "He that is 
joined to the Lord is one spirit ;^^ and "As God is, 
so we are in the world'' Then as God is Spirit 
and invisible, and His children like Him in this 
respect, it follows, that as he dwells in the hearts 
of His people, that this dwelling place is also a 
spiritual one, and cannot be of the temporal, nor 
bounded, nor limited. 

Then a city would be, many inhabitants, or a 
collection of individuals. The city of God is the 
numerous individual members of God^s house, con- 
sidered in a collective sense, or as a whole, or unit, 
who are subject to the rule of the Lord by His 
Word. 

Let me make this a little plainer, if possible, by 
an illustration: Suppose a man hears the Word 
of God, and understands it, and accepts its teach- 
ings, will not that knowledge be imprinted on his 
mind, or heart ? and is not this that which is writ- 
ten, "I will write my laws in their hearts and in- 
scribe them in their minds ?^^ Again, if a man 



126 THE OPKN PBARI.Y GATKS. 

has these laws stamped in his hearty and feels im- 
pelled to obey^ and do as this law directs, is this 
not the Spirit of God moving him to action? 
Christ manifested this spirit. That is, to do the 
things God, the Father, commanded Him. And 
if we "have not the Spirit of Christ, we are none 
of His.^^ Thus, a man, knowing his duty, but re- 
fusing to do it, or shunning it, has not the Spirit 
of Christ, because the Spirit of Christ will move 
him to act in accord with the Father's will. But 
if we have not that spirit, God will not dwell in 
our hearts, and we cease to be a temiple for the liv- 
ing God. 

But to the faithful, the Word says, '^^Kejoice, 
and again, I say, rejoice.^' Then let us, who pro- 
fess to know God, not put far off from us His 
throne, and*His place of abode, nor a time for Him 
to come, but let us be fully assured that "in Him 
we live and move and have our being.'' 

I wish here to call attention to an error that is 
productive of much evil, and is a great hinderance 
to a rapid spreading of the good tidings, and is 
practiced by most professed followers, this is the 
enrolling of names as the Lord's children, and 
counting them from that way. This is only an- 
other instance of taking the temporal and trying to 
build it into the eternal. A curse was sent on 
David for numbering the Lord's poeple under the 
Mosaic economy, and this was given that we might 
get a lesson from his mistake. 



THK CITY OF GOD. 127 

In II. Cor. Paul said, ^^We are not bold^ to nnm- 
ber, or compare ourselves with certain of them 
that commend themselves/^ etc. Kow this com- 
parison of each one with another is all wrong. 

You can hardly read a religious paper^, but that 
you see a display of numbers. These numbers^ nor 
the membership rolls do not represent God^s Israel. 
Besides, that is a numbering from the temporal, 
because they are seen, but the only test Christ ever 
gave was, "By their fruits you sJiall know them.^^ 
Then it is a hinderance to good work. A belongs 
to one denomination roll, and B, to a different sect. 
Work is needed done that both ought to, and 
could engage in heartily, were it not for the com- 
parison among themselves. If B helps A, then 
A^s roll will swell too fast, and visa versa. So 
let^s quit this enrolling and comparison arrange- 
ment, and let the test which Christ gave be our 
only standard. This numbering is condemned by 
God, for in Rev. John wrote : "This is the number 
of the heast (or animal) here is wisdom 
let him that understands count the num- 
ber, for it is the number of a man.^^ 
That is, it is man's numbering, and rep- 
resents the beast, in that it is of the temporal, and 
not of the Spirit, because these are seen things, 
both the members who enroll, and the roll itself, 
are of the temporal, and in no sense do they repre- 
sent the Israel of God. John said this number 
was six hundred and sixty-six, and that just about. 



128 THE OPEN PKARI.Y GATKS. 

according to history, represents the nunij)er of the 
varied and different sects, and names of those who 
are undertaking to set a standard, or a test for 
telling who are the Lord^s people, and how many 
there are of them. We should take a lesson from 
the Tower of Babel. There the people undertook 
to rear a tower by which they could reach heaven, 
where God dwelt. But the Lord confused their 
language, so they could not understand one an- 
other. So it is today, mankind is laboring to build 
in their own way a structure to reach heaven, in- 
stead of working by faith, following the teachings 
of the ^^Word.^^ There are hundreds of different 
ways taught, and all is spiritual confusion; they un- 
derstand not one another. This enrolling of names 
is one of the unauthorized practices, and one of 
the chief causes of the division in God^s family, 
and is, therefore, evil. * 

Then let each one of us take Christ as our pat- 
tern, and build into this spiritual temple, of which 
the apostle, and the prophets, are tried, and ac- 
cepted stones, and by their teaching we can measure 
our every thought, word, and act, each one being a 
living stone, to do whatever will be for the good of 
mankind, and honoring to God. In doing this we 
will be building, or increasing, the Lord^s city, as 
it is written, ''Man shall huild My city " But, let 
every man take heed how he builds, because, if, as 
preparations, that error must be corrected, f ornoth- 
living stones, we should accept an error in our 



THE CITY OF GOD. 129 

ing impure, nor false, can enter into this building. 
So if we do not correct this error ourselves, and 
make the deficiency good, by adding knowledge 
from God, then we, as living stones, must suffer 
loss, because the stone .will have to be reduced in 
size until a perfect stone is had, after leaving out 
the flaws and blemishes. To illustrate this 
thought, if a man tries to build the fleshly, or tem- 
poral man, into this spiritual structure, that will 
be one error he must correct, or he will suffer the 
loss of that, and only the spiritual knowledge will 
be retained. If, therefore, we put away the flesh, 
and build after the Spirit, we will receive a reward, 
and we can appreciate it now, for ^"^our citizenship 
is in heaven from whence also we tvait for a Savior, 
who shall (hereafter) fashion anew the body of 
our humiliation, that it may be conf orm'ed to the 
body of His glory.-'^ 

Then let us rejoice that the pearly gates are now 
open, and that we may enter into this heavenly 
condition now, and labor with the Master, and 
abide His time for disrobing us of the mortal, and 
the crowning of immortality. 



THE OPEN" PEARLY GATES, 

AN EXCERPT ON 

REVELATIONS. 

SEVENTH' CHAPTER. 

In reading this last book of the New Testament, 
many people regard it as a sealed book^ that is, that 
it cannot be understood. But if we take the meaning 
of the words, "revelation^^ and ^^apocal3rpse,^^ they 
have reference to an uncovering, opening up, un- 
folding, a disclosing, or revealing, of what was be- 
fore hid; therefore, instead of being a sealed book, 
or mysterious writings, it discloses things, and 
opens up, and makes plain many points of doctrine 
that otherwise would not be so clear. 

There are three schemes of interpretation exist- 
ing among Bible students, with reference to this 
apocalypse. 

First, those who believe that all that is written 
in revelations relate to the past. 

Second, those who- believe the events are all fu- 
ture; and. 

Third, those who believe the events narrated are 
historical, and form a continuous history of the 
church from the beginning, unto the consumima- 
tion of all things that God makes known to man 



AN KXCKRPT ON REVKI.ATIONS. 131 

while in flesh. This last view we believe to be the 
correct one. 

So we shall endeavor to point out the connec- 
tions between events referred to by John^ and 
those referred to by other writers or teachers of the 
Word of God. 

Man^s faith is strengthened, and built up, when 
he can see where, and how, the prophecies, and 
predictions of writers in the past have been so 
completely fulfilled, that there apepars a complete 
harmony between what they said would transpire 
and the actual occurrence. Let us try to collect 
and identify some of these facts. 

In most of the Old Testament teachings, a sym- 
bol, or metaphor, or type, is used to express a con- 
dition. So when we read in the Scriptures, where 
it is predicted that a certain condition will exist, 
and can find in the apocalypse, where the condi- 
tions do exist, this not only shows a coincidence 
between the two, but it shows a wisdom beyond, 
and superior to the mind of man. But we must 
keep in mind that this is a spiritual teaching, and 
concerning spiritual conditions, and that this is to 
followers of the Spirit law, and not to the world, 
or unbelievers. 

The first thought, then, after telling His ser- 
vants that this is a revelation of Jesus Christ, to 
them who hear witness to His Word; John says: 
^^Blessed is he that reads, and they that hear (un- 



132 THE OPEN PEARI.Y GATES. 

derstand) the words of this prophecy (or teach- 
ing) and keep the things which are written there- 
in, for the time is at hand/' "I your brother in 
tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of 

Christ, was in the isle which is called Patmas, for 
the Word of God/^ Here, John was a prisoner, 
and in tribulation, because he was a witness to the 
Word. That is he was being persecuted, as were 
most of the followers of Christ at that time, and 
John was meditating upon what would be the out- 
come of all this, for he says, ^^I was in the Spirit 
on the Lord's day/' This Lord^s day did not have 
any reference to any particular day of the week, or 
month, or year: for these are all man^s naming and 
numbering, besides, every day is alike with the 
Lord. Then what day did John refer to ? It was 
to this Gospel day, the last dispensation. So John 
was meditating upon this spiritual reign, because 
already the earthly 'powers had made prisoners of 
many of the saints, and this grieved him, and he 
was anxious to know the outcome, or how the issue 
would terminate. Just as Daniel in former times, 
sought understanding by meditation and prayer, 
and it was given to him. But Daniel was not al- 
lowed to disclose that knowledge which was re- 
vealed to him, but was told to seal it up, until the 
time of the end. On the contrary, John was told 
to reveal his knowledge to the churches. So John 
was in the Spirit, on the new dispensation, or earn- 



AN KXCKRPT ON RKVKI.ATIONS. 133 

estly desiring to know more about what was the 
destiny of the faithful, iinder this Gospel age. 

So, in response to his wishes, John heard a voice 
hehind him. This word, ^^behind,^^ indicates that 
what he heard, had already transpired, so he was 
instructed to write them in a book, and also to 
write ^^the things that are now, and what shall be 
hereafter. John 'Hurned" to see the voice/^ That 
is, he looked back to see the Word as it existed be- 
fore this time, or as it had existed up to this time, 
and he saw ^^seven churches, with the Son of Man 
in the midst.^^ Seven is a complete number. So 
John saw the churches with Christ as the central 
j&gure of all. 

^^When I saw Him I fell at His feet as one 
dead.^^ Just the samle condition applies to all 
mankind when they see Christ properly. There 
is nothing of man aside from wisdom that pertains 
to life, consequently he is as one dead, and must 
lay hold on the wisdom of Christ in order to attain 
to life. 

Then out of the mouth of this Son of G-od ^^pro* 
ceeds a two-edged sword.^^ This sword, or Word, 
is effective both ways; that is, it reaches back in 
the past, and points to the future, and is the power 
of God both ways. Then this Sword gives instruc- 
tions about the conditions and the results of these 
varied conditions of the congregations, and some 
one, or more of these conditions, will apply to any. 



134 THK OPKN PEARLY GATES. 

or all other congregations for all time; hence they 
are valuable to God^s people, in showing how they 
stand, and how to correct any error that any one 
may have, and are applicable to any, and all times. 
The first congregation had ^^gone away from their 
first love/^ In other words, they had grown world- 
ly minded, so they were counseled to repent. At 
Smyrna, some of the mlembers were to be tried 
by evil rulers. They were counseled to be patient, 
and so on through the list, each congregation, rep- 
resenting an existing condition, and a remedy 

for correcting, or passing over that condition ac- 
ceptably. 

Then Christ^s second coming is spoken of. "Be- 
hold I stand at the door, and knock; if any man 
hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to 
him, and sup with him, and he with Me.^' 
Eemember, this is to the churches, and this 
is what He told His disciples we would 
do in John, 14-20 to 25, before He went 
away, or before putting off the flesh. "He that 
overcometh, I will give to sit down with Me, upon 
my throne, as I overcame, and sat down with My 
Father on his throne/^ 

Before He was crucified, and while still here in 
the flesh, Christ said, "I have overcome the 
world.^^ So God gave him authority over all 
things, both in heaven and on earth, and He is 
exercising that authority now; for the edict has 



AN KXCBRPT ON REVKI.ATIONS. 135 

gone forth^ "He that believeth not is condemned 
already/^ This is his authority over the earth, or 
world. Then over those in heaven, He says: 
"He that believeth on the Son hath eternal life, 
but he that oheyeth not the Son, the wrath of God 
abides on him/^ 

Now concerning who overcomes, John says, "I 
have written to you, young men, because the 
Word of God abides in you, and you have over- 
come the evil one/^ Again, "Whatsoever is be- 
gotten of God overcom-es the world/^ When we 
accept the Word of God, and are ^uiied by its 
teachings, we overcome the world, and the Spirit 
of Christ comes to us, and we rule upon earth 
through the Word, or upon the same throne with 
the Word. In this way we are each one a king, 
and a priest to rule over our own body, and keep 
it in subjection. 

"After these things, I saw a door opened in 
heaven, and one saying, comie up hither, I will 
shew you things which must come to pass here- 
after.^' "Straightway I was in the Spirit.'^ John's 
mind was immediately turned on the contempla- 
ton of another phase of the heavenly things. He 
had been seeing the spirit's ruling in the man, or 
the human part being ruled, or a ruling over the 
flesh, but now he is to see the other side. "There 
was a throne set, and he that sat upon it like a 
precious stone to look upon." Around this throne 



136 THK OPBN PKARI.Y GATKS 

twenty-four other thrones, an elder seated on each 
of these. ^^Seven lamps are burning before this 
throne, which are the seven Spirits of God/^ 
Here, follows a description of the four ''living 
otnes/' which means the four life-giving streams of 
God^s Word, each one had proclaimed the Lord as 
holy. And when the four life-giving ones united 
to proclaim this holiness of the Lord, or when 
all had proclaimed, the twenty-four elders ^^fell 
down,^^ or bowed, and joined in saying, ^^ Worthy 
art Thou, our Lord, to receive the glory, and hon- 
or, and power, for Thou didst create all things.^^ 
These four life-giving ones are represented as 
^Tiaving six wings.^^ That is, they had six means 
of being conveyed, and as a knowledge of God is 
what gives life, apply these six means of being 
conveyed to it, and we have, seeing, feeling, tast- 
ing, smelling, hearing, and reason, or thought. 
Reason is the God image in man, and therefore 
the greatest of all in acquiring knowledge. Ezekiel 
prophesied of these four life-giving ones, as sera- 
phim. Well, a seraph, is an angel of the highest 
order; so it is written, "Are they not all minis- 
tering spirits.^^ But the word of God, sent out 
to man is the seraph, or greatest of all spirits, be- 
cause the prophet wrote, "My word shall not re- 
turn unto me void, but it shall accomplish that 
whereunto I sent it.^^ This word is the only media- 
tor now^ between God and man, and it will not 



AN KXCKRPT ON RBVEI.ATIONS. 137 

return to God so long as there is a man on earth 
to be taught righteousness. 

Christ said: ^^If they will not hear My Word, 
neither will they believe, though one be risen from 
the dead/^ 

The next thing shown to John was the sealed 
book, ^Vritten on the back side, and within, and 
sealed with seven seals/^ 

Of course, this is symbolical, or figurative 
teaching, and evidently has reference to the book 
of life. That which was written on the back side, 
has reference to the prophecies concerning the 
Messiah, for Daniel was told to ^^seal up the book 
till the time of the end/^ That is, the full im- 
port of what Daniel wrote about, could not be un- 
derstood until the consummation of the things then 
foretold. So John wept, because he could not yet 
see through, nor comprehend, all these things 
which were written in the book; but the angel told 
him that the ^^Lion of the tribe of Judah had pre- 
vailed to open the seals,^^ and forthwith the angel 
commenced to unfold these mysteries to John. 

Now if the prophecy by Daniel was sealed till 
the time of the end, and this end referred to the 
coming of Christ; then certainly when Christ came, 
and accomplished the "all things^^ that were pro- 
phesied of concerning Him, surely the book, or 
prophecy was no longer a sealed book, but a ful- 
filled record. The first thing the angel showed 



138 THE OPEN PKARlvY GATES. 

John, after the opening of the seals, was that in 
the midst of these ^^f our living ones, stood a lamb 
as though slain from the foundation of the world/' 
Christ, the redeemer, was the central, and material 
truth in all the four living ones, or streams, or 
heads. Christ ^Hook the book out of the Father's 
hand/^ That is, he received it from the Father. 
Christ said, ''1 can do nothing, only as the Fa- 
ther gives Me. What I have received that I speak.'* 
And on the Mount of Transfiguration, Moses, and 
Elias appeared as representatives of the law, and 
the prophets, and God testified in their presence, 
"This is My Son, hear Him.'' 

So all former teachings gave way to the new, 
and better covenant, which is everlasting, and to 
all people. After Christ was perfected. He said, 
"All power in heaven and earth is given to Me." 
And he authorized His twelve witnesses to bind 
and loose. This gave them authority. Conse- 
quently all former teaching must come into har- 
niony with their teaching, or give way to it, or 
"fall at his feet." The redeemed, "Sing a new 
song, saying, worthy are Thou to rule, for Thou 
hast purchased unto God, men out of every nation, 
and people, and tongue." 

The first seal was opened and the first living 
one said, "Come and see." 

What was seen ? A white horse. 

A horse represents the motive power, or con> 



AN FXCKRPT ON RKVKlATIONS. 139 

veying properties, or that which impels it to go 
forth. 

So the first living one was sent forth conquer- 
ing, and to conquer, the Word was to flow on, and 
not "return until it accomplished that whereto it 
Was sent/^ This first division, or head, of the 
river, was sent out to reach to the great river Eu- 
phrates. 

The second seal was opened, and a "red horse 
came forth.^^ This represents the conditions un- 
der the law age, it was a literal ruling through 
Moses, to show the power of God, and what He 
required of His people. Their mission was to 
make war on their enemies, and drive them out. 
"A great sword, or great power was given them.^^ 
This law took cognizance of the fleshly man; so a 
great sword, or great power was given them. "And 
that they should slay one another.^^ The "Word^^ 
required of them when one sinned, "Stone him till 
he die.^^ 

Then the "Third seal was opened,^^ and the third 
living one said, come, "A black horse came f orth.^^ 
The prophets warned the Jews that unless they re- 
pented and did the will of G-od, they would be 
cut off. They also foretold of the utter destruc- 
tion of the temple, and the Jewish power and au- 
thority. This was a very darlc, or sad, mission for 
them. 

Then comes the opening of the fourth seal. "A 



140 THE OPEN PKARI^Y GATES. 

pale horse, and Death sat on him/^ The new law 
was taught by parables, at first, it was not clear to 
the understanding, was ''Pale/' And with the 
coming in of this new law commenced the going 
out of the old, or death to the old covenant. In 
other words, the old covenant was being fulfilled, 
so that it might be done away. 

Then the fifth seal was opened, and under this 
altar they cried out, saying, "How long, 0, Mas- 
ter, dost Thou not judge and avenge our blood 
on them that dwell on earth.^^ 

Well, the apostles asked of the Lord, "Tell us 
when shall these things be, and what shall be the 
sign of Thy coming, and of the end of the world.^' 
He told them that "This generation shall not pass 
away until all these things shall be fulfiUed.^^ And 
at another time He said, "The time is near at 
hand.^' They asked Him, "Why, then, say the 
scribes that Elias mlist first come?^' He said, 
"Elias has already come, and they did not know 
him. So, alas! must the Son of Man suffer of 
them.'' 

The world did not know the spirit of Elijah. 
Neither will they know the presence of the Son of 
G^od, but to His disciples. He said, "Tarry at Je- 
rusalem, and all things will be brought to your 
remembrance.'' 

At the opening of the sixth seal there was a 
great earthquake. This means a shaking, or re- 



AN EXGBRPT ON RKVKIvATlONS. 141 

moval of those things which do not stand by the 
authority of God. Well, the Mosaic law had been 
fulfilled; had accomplshed its purpose, so it was 
shaken and remtoved. This was the ^^Kemoval of 
the heaven as a scroll/^ for it existed by a scroll, 
or written Word, authorized by God; so it was 
removed as a scroll. "The sun became black, the 
moon turned to 'blood and the stars of heaven fell. 
Isaiah foretold of the removal of the old heav- 
en, and the creation of the new, in these words, 
"Behold, I make new heaven, and new earth.^' 
Then he describes their characteristics, "I will 
create heaven a rejoicing, and her people a joy, 
and I will joy in My people, and the voice of weep- 
ing shall be heard no more in her.^^ 

Paul corroborates this: "If any man be in 
Christ, he is a new creation, old things have uassed 
away; behold, all things are become new.^^ There 
is nothing in the new that pertains to the old, or 
to the body of flesh, no weeping, no suffering, or 
dying in the new man, which is spiritual, and en- 
tirely distinct from the old, or fleshly man. "The 
sun was darkened.^^ Christ, the light-giver of the 
world, was darkened for a time, and "The moon 
became as blood, and the stars of heaven fell.^^ 
All the lesser, or reflected lights, under the Jewish 
economy were done away with, viz., their rulers, 
and priests, and scribes. Peter on Pentacost quot- 
ed this prophecy by Joel that the sun would be 



142 THK OPEN PEARI^Y GATES. 

darkened and the stars fall, etc., and said, ^^This 
Pentacost manifestation was a fulfilling of that 
prophecy by Joel, which is almost identical with 
this in Eev., 6-12-14. These all testify that "The 
great, and notable day of the Lord is come/" 

The prophets foretold that the Lord would raise 
up his people in that day, and John here tells 
about "an hundred and forty-four thou- 
sand,^^ being raised up who were judged 
worthy, out of the twelve tribes of Israel. 
Matthew corroborates this, "Many bodies of the 
saints that had fallen asleep, were raised.^^ 

"After these things I saw an innumerable host 
out of all tribes, and tongues, and peoples, stand- 
ing before the Lamb, arrayed in white robes,^^ and 
one said, "Who are these in white robes T' "These 
are they which have washed their robes in the 
blood of the Lamb, and they serve Him day and 
night in His temple/' The body is the temple for 
the indwelling of the Spirit, and in it we must 
serve Christ day and night. This proves that it is 
now, or before the putting off of the flesh, that we 
must "stand^^ for this term, day and night, has ref- 
erence only to earthly things, for as the sun is 
shining all the time, night is only partial, or a 
temporary period, when earth hides the light from 
our natural vision, and has no reference to a spir- 
itual condition, only while the Spirit is a tenant of 
this natural house. 



AN KXCKRPT ON RBVKI.ATIONS. 143 

At the opening of the seventh seal, ^There is 
silence in heaven, for a short space, called ^Tialf 
an hour/^ This is the time from the crucifixion 
of Christ till the authority to teach, was given 
on Pentacost, for Christ told his witnessees to 
"Wait until they were endowed with power,^^ or 
until they were authorized to go forth, and teach. 
So during this short period of fifty days there was 
no Word of God sent out by His authority; conse- 
quently it is called a "silence in heaven/^ For 
the Word of God has always gone out through 
his chosen people, or his ^Tieaven/^ 

Then "Seven angels, which stood before God, 
were given trumphets^^ (authority or power to 
sound), and they prepared themselves to sound 
e. g. They made themselves competent to tell the 
glad tidings and give instructions concerning this 
new spiritual way. 

Now let^s see if we can identify these seven an- 
gel trumpeters under this new dispensation. 

First, the Acts of Apostles was written by Luke. 
Then Paul wrote the Eoman letter, and others, 
and he said,"Let him that is spiritual acknowl- 
edge that the things I write are the command- 
ments of God.^^ Well those seven angels had seven 
trumpets given them, and when they sounded they 
effected the earth, or that which pertained to the 
earthy. So Luke and Paul were two who had 
prepared themselves for sounding. Then there is 



144 THE OPKN PEARI.Y GATES. 

Peter,, James, John, Jude, and the writer of the 
Hebrew letter, whose identity is doubtful, but the 
translators of the twentieth century, New Testa- 
ment say : "It is certain that Paul was not the au- 
thor of the Hebrew letter, but it is probable that 
Barnabus was its author/^ At any rate, it shows 
to have been written by one familiar with the Old 
Testament Scriptures, as well as having a knowl- 
edge of the new covenant. So this makes the sev- 
en messengers to the churches. 

In the ninth chapter we have the statement that 
a "Star fell from heaven to earth, and the key of 
the pit was given to him.^^ As a star is called an 
angel in the first chapter, we apply it this way, 
Peter was that star. When the Lord was telling 
them that they would all deny him, Peter said 
he would not do this; that he would die first. But 
the record tells us where he denied, with an oath, 
that he ever knew this Gallileean. This was the 
falling from heaven to earth, and Christ had be- 
fore this told Peter that He would give him the 
keys of the kingdom, and that whatever he bound 
on earth should be bound. As Peter bound the 
evil on the earth, so there is no place for it in 
heaven. 

"In those days men shall seek death and shall 
not find it. Death will flee from them.^^ All 
right, after Christ was crucified, Peter said, "I 
go fishing.^^ The others say, "I go with you." 



AN BXCKRPT ON RKVKI.ATIONS. 145 

Here, they all turned away from this spiritual 
teaching and went back after worldly pursuits, 
but the Lord appeared to them, while in a naked 
condition, and after making Himself known in the 
broiling of the fishes, He said to Peter, ^^Lovest 
thou Me more than these/^ And after Peter had 
affirmed for the third time his love, the Lord told 
him to feed His lambs. From this time on, we do 
not hear of Peter, or any of the other apostles fish- 
ing. But afterwards, when it was necessary to 
have some one to look after temporal things, Peter 
said, ^^t is not meet for us to leave the Word to 
serve tables.^^ So this completely fulfills the con- 
ditions as they actually occurred. These apostles 
had given up hope, and sought to go back into 
worldly pursuits. They thought they had been 
separated from the Lord. But this death or sep- 
aration fled from them. 

At the sounding of the sixth trumpet, four an-- 
gels were loosed from the great river Euphrates, 
who had been prepared for this sounding, and 
what proceeded out of their mouth killed men, 
and those who were not killed repented not of their 
evil works, of murders, etc. 

While we may not be able at present, to make 
the application of all of the figurative teachings 
as we should, it is only a question of application, 
or meditation, and an earnest desire, and all will 
develop into perfect harmony. In chapter 10 we 



146 THE OPKN PEARI^Y GATKS. 

have the angel with the open book proclaiming 
that ^^time shall be no more/^ and saying, "That 
in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, the 
mystery of God, according to the prophets shall be 
finished/^ 

The old prophets foretold of events that reached 
to the destruction of Jerusalem, and no further; 
for Luke said, ''These be the days of vengeance, 
that all things which are written may be fulfilled '^ 
But how long will these days of fulfillment con- 
tinue ? 

"When you see Jerusalem comipassed with ar- 
mies, then know that her desolation is at hand/' 
John, in this tenth chapter was m;ade to under- 
stand how that Jerusalem: was to be destroyed, and 
the temple razed to the ground, and the Jewish 
people to suffer as no other people ever had be- 
fore suffered; therefore, while this knowledge was 
sweet to receive, as a miatter of knowledge, the re- 
flections, or after thought, on these conditions were 
bitter to John, for he was a Jew, and sympathized 
with his people, according to flesh. So it is rep- 
resented as "sweet in his mouth, but bitter to his 
belly,^^ and he was not allowed to reveal this 
knowledge to the Jews. The timie for prophesy- 
ing, or teaching them as a nation only, had passed 
out, and he was commanded to "Seal it up and 
write them not.^^ So time ceased with the going 
out of these things, which the Lord had foretold 



AN BXCKRPT ON RKVKI.ATIONS. 147 

through the prophets. This, of course, has refer- 
ence to time as kept hy the Lord. 

As for man^s time, it is usually kept hy begin- 
ning at some notable event in history, and count- 
ing by seasons from that event. Therefore it does 
not represent any particular stage in eternity. 
Yet in the face of this truth, many people are look- 
ing for time to cease, and for eternity to begin. 
But eternity nieans without a beginning, as well 
as, without an ending. So time is reckoned with 
respect to man, or to that which is temporal; 
therefore, it has ceased to be reckoned, for man 
is no longer considered from the fleshly, or tem- 
poral, but as a new creation, and is not, there- 
fore, limited by time. 

In the days of the sounding of the seventh trum- 
pet, and also in the days of the destruction of Je- 
rusalem, the "Mystery of God^^ was to be finished, 
and that which had been spoken by the old 
prophets, completed, and time no longer reckoned. 

But John is told that he must teach, many na- 
tions, and people. 

"And there was given me a measuring reed.^^ 
What was he to measure? "The temple of God, 
and the altar, and the worshippers'' But not 
for the court outside. No need to measure it, for, 
"It is given to the nations.^^ All outside of God's 
city are of the natural; so he told John it was 
given to the nations; no instructions concerning it. 



148 th:^ open pkari^y gates. 

^^And I will give unto My two witnesses, and 
they shall prophesy, twelve hundred and sixty 
days, clothed in sackcloth/^ This term' ^^saek- 
eloth^^ means humility. Jonah was clothed in 
sackcloth when he preached to the Ninevites. So 
these two witnesses were clothed in the humility 
of the flesh, and were both teaching that way to- 
gether, for twelve hundred and sixty days, and 
when they finished their testmony together in this 
hampered way, then the "Beast overcame, and 
killed them, and their dead bodies lay in the 
street of the great city, which is spiritually Sodom 
and Egype (e. g., burning and darkness), where 
also their Lord was crucfied.^^ In other words, 
this burning and drakness, or ignorance, was what 
crucified the Lord of Glory, or was the cause of 
the crucifixion. The worldly powers thought they 
had crushed out the teachings of God^s Word when 
they sealed the tomb of Christ and placed a guard 
there to keep His disciples from taking the body 
away, for they knew that he had said, "Destroy 
this temple and I will raise it up the third day.^^ 

After putting off the saccloth, or body of humi- 
liation, the two witnesses were called up to a high- 
er position, where mortality could not hinder. 

Then the seventh angel sounded, and voices in 
heaven, "saying, the kingdoms of this world are 
become the kingdoms of our Lord, and His Christ, 
and he shall reign forever, and ever.^^ This time 



AN BxcKRPT ON rbve;i.ations. 149 

was after the ^^Word" was glorified, so they pro- 
claim, ^^ISTow is the time of the dead to be judged, 
and the time to give their reward to Thy servants, 
and all that fear Thy name, both small and 
great/^ 

Then John portrays another phase of the king- 
dom. 

'^A great sign was seen in heaven/^ Christ was 
the sign, because Luke said, ^^He was given for a 
sign/^ The woman was the church, the twelve 
stars the apostles, ^^And the church was delivered 
of a man child, who was to rule the nations with 
a rod of iron/^ That is rule in an unyielding, or 
positive way. "But a great red dragon was wait- 
ing for this man child to devour him/^ This is 
precisely what the evil Herod tried to do. He had 
diligent search made for him, and finally had all 
the male children, two years old and under, mur- 
dered in his effort to destroy this child, who was 
born to rule. "And the woman fied into the wil- 
derness, where she had a place prepared of God, 
that there they may nourish her twelve hundred 
and sixty days.^^ The wilderness represents a 
place uncultivated or unfruitful, and this was the 
conditions of this new, and universal doctrine, 
which Christ taught to His apostles, and it was 
this Word which was ''First began to be spoken 
by the Lord,^^ and the way was prepared by John, 
for John was a forerunner to ''prepare the way 



150 THE OPEN PEARI.Y GATES. 

of the Lord/^ Here he taught, or nurtured the 
church twelve hundred and sixty days, for thus it 
is written : ^^He taught them for the space of about 
three and one-half years/^ Christ said, ^^I have 
kept them through Thy Word/' So this fulfills 
exactly this statement about the ^Voman/' And 
there was war in heaven. Michael (who is the 
Prince) and his angels waring with the dragon, 
and there was found no place any more in heaven 
for the dragon/' Now, think of this statement. 
"Under the former heaven, God took cognizance of 
the body of each of his followers. But in this 
new, and better way, the flesh is not reckoned. 
There is no more any place in heaven for flesh, 
and blood. But we are new creations, and the 
dragon, or Satan, or the deceiver, is cast to the 
earth, neither the evil, nor the animal man are 
reckoned as being in heaven. So, "A voice in 
heaven proclaimed, now is come salvation, and 
power, and the authority of our God, and His 
Christ, for the accuser is cast down, which ac- 
cluses them before God day^ and night/' The 
day, and night, has reference to the temporal, so 
also does the accuser, and applies now in this pro- 
bationary state. 

^^When the dragon saw that he was cast down, 
he persecuted the woman, but she was given the 
wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the 
wilderness imto her place where she is nourished 



AN KXCKRPT ON RKVKIyATlONS. 151 

for a time, times, and a half time.'^ This is 
three years and a half, a year, years, and a half 
year. This was the time the Lord nourished His 
apostles through the word from the time He chose 
'them, and sent them forth to teach until the time 
of His crucifixion. 

^^The dragon went away to make war with the 
rest of her seed, which keep the commandments of 
God, and hold the testimony of Jesus.^^ Think 
ahout this statement ! Surely the dragon will not 
follow up to war with us after our bodies are per- 
fected, but it is now in this time of trials, and 
temptations, that he is making war with "Those 
who hold the testimony of Jesus.^^ For, Paul said, 
"But as then, even so noWj he that is bom after 
flesh, persecutes him that is bom after spirit.^' 
But time swallows up the evil, and their evil teach- 
ing, thus helping the spiritual, which is unbur- 
dened of time in a natural way. 

"If any man have an ear let him hear; if any 
man shall kill with the sword, with the sword he 
must be killed; here is the patience, and faith of 
the saints.^^ Notice in this, that, John has the 
carnal man, and his carnal weapons, or usages, 
under consideration. Let him that understands 
count the number of this beast, which is six hun- 
dred and sixty-six, and is the number of a man, 
or m'an^s numbering. Now this measuring reed 
was for God^s temple, and not for the outside 



152 THK OPEN PEARLY GATES. 

world; therefore, it could not have reference to the 
Pope of Eome, nor any other than some delusive 
teaching or evil in the churches, which was being 
practiced. So the warning *^^Let him (the fol- 
lower or disciple) that understands count this 
numberiag of man, or of the animal, or beast, as 
it is here called. It is neither authorized nor sanc- 
tioned by God. 

There are about six hundred and sixty-six dif- 
ferent sects in the world who are trying to keep a 
roll, or the number of God^s people, but the ''Lord 
adds them to His church,^^ and man cannot know 
them only '%y their fruits.^^ That is the test 
Christ gave, and Paul also said, ^^What man know- 
eth the things of a man, save the spirit of man, 
which is in him. So no man knows the Spirit, 
or things of God only as it is revealed to him.^^ 
Consequently, this numbering or combining the 
carnal with the spiritual is confusion; therefore, 
called whoredoms. God^s children, are command- 
ed to come out of her. ^^What concord has Christ 
with Belial ?'^ or how can there be a union of light, 
and darkness, or of Flesh and Spirit? The fol- 
lowers of Christ must get out of all these man- 
made ordinances and be governed by the Word. 
"By their fruits you shall know them.'^ 

Every man who uses a carnal weapon, or unau- 
thorized means, to try to promote the Lord^s work, 
will fail. Then do not teach your boys, that they 



AN EXCERPT ON RKVBI.ATIONS. 153 

may go to the army, and kill, and yet be blameless 
before God. Did you read, ^^He that is for cap- 
tivity, into captivity he goes. Here is wisdom.'' 
If any man put not away the carnal, which tends 
to bondage, and seek not after spiritual truths, 
then he is of the number who are for captivity. 
This is a comparison between two characteristics, 
one is trying to ingraft the temporal, or fleshly, 
mail into the eternal kingdom. They run out 
after converts and proselyte them, by some sensa- 
tional or emotional teaching, or the converts ac- 
cept erroneous doctrines as truth. Therefore, un- 
derstanding, and knowledge (which is the basis 
of all spiritual life), is very meager, if indeed, 
there is any, in many of these converts. But, if 
knowledge is not the basis, why is it, that all 
Christendom sends out their missionaries to the 
heathen, to teach them of a God, and of a better 
life that they might be saved? ^'^AU things that 
pertain to life and Godliness are given through a 
knowledge of God.'' Therefore^ the enrollment of 
our names on a church book, is no part of the new 
life^ because it is not authorized by God. 

Again, in the fourteenth chapter, John sees the 
church a little further advanced. "The Lamb 
standing on Mount Zion." Christ head over the 
church, "And a hundred and forty-four thousand 
saints with Him, and they sing a new song." Before 
this they had sung the song of Moses. But now 



154 THE OPEN PEARI.Y GATES. 

they sing the song of the Lamb. And ^^1 saw an- 
other angel in mid heaven, having the everlasting 
Gospel to preach on the earth/' If this Gospel is 
to be preached on the earth, and forever, then it 
was proper arid correct for him to proclaim this 
doctrine, and it applies to us, as well as to that 
time. "Give glory to God for the hour of His 
judgment is come.^^ 

There will be no after time, or another age for 
it to come. Peter corroborates this statement as to 
the time of judgment, saying, "The time has come 
for judgment to begin at the house of God.^^ 

Another angel followed after this, saying, "Ba- 
bylon is fallen.^^ Now, if any man worship the 
beast (animial), or anything that pertains to it, 
God^s wrath is on him. This is to worshippers, 
but it is vain worshippers, or those who make sa- 
cred something unauthorized, and which cannot 
avail, nor build up the spirit life. Christ cast 
Satan down, and denounced the Scribes and Phari- 
sees, who were unrighteous in their judgments, 
and this was the fall of Babylon, or of this con- 
fusion. 

''After this" another angel said, "Worship God, 
and keep His commandments, here is the patience 
of the saints." Then it is enough for us to do 
what we are commanded to do, without adding 
something that we think works well. 

John says, "I saw another sign in heaven; sev- 



AN KXCKRPT ON RKVKI.ATIONS. 155 

en angels having the seven last plagues, and in 
these plagues, is -finished the wrath of God/^ "One 
of the living creatures gave to the seven angels 
seven howls full of the wrath of God/^ "And I 
heard a voice saying to the seven angels, go and 
pour out your howls of wrath into the earth/' 
Here again the measuring reed to God^s temple 
says all the wrath goes into the earth, or earthy. 
One proclaimed, while these bowls of wrath were 
being poured out, "True and righteous are Thy 
judgments/^ 

This wrath tormented men, and "they blas- 
phemed the name of God, which had the power 
over these, and they repented not to give Him 
glory." Today is the day of salvation, and now 
the time to repent. So this is the time, and not 
after the body is raised up to immortality. The 
sixth angel poured out his bowl, "and the waters 
of the great river Euphrates dried up, that the 
way might be made ready for the Kings of the 
sunrisingf' 

Euphrates, is that head, or stream of life repre- 
sented by the Gospel of Christ. Was it ever dried 
up or stayed to prepare a way? Yes, Christ said 
to his apostles, "I go away to prepare a place for 
you," and He also told them to "Tarry at Jerusa- 
lem until endued with power." So here was a 
staying, or drying up, of this stream to make ready 
a place for his followers, who are said to be 



156 THB OPEN PBARI.Y GATES. 

kings, and priests unto God/^ and these came by 
the Word of God, or the light-giving, or as here 
expressed, by the sunrising. 

Then John beheld the unclean spirits of the 
dragon and beast, ^^They are spirits of deviFs 
working signs, and they go forth to gather the 
kings of the world unto the battle of the great day 
of God, and they gathered them to a place called 
in Hebrew, Har M'ageddon^' (a mountain of de- 
struction, or a place of declaring God^s message). 
^^And great hail, every stone about the weight of a 
talent comes down out of heaven upon men/' 
This pelting with the talents of men is after the 
pouring out of the seventh bowl, when a voice said, 
''It is done'' 

So God^s people, ^^the heavens/' pelted men 
with this Gospel hail, each man about the weight 
of his talent, or his pelting power, was in propor- 
tion to his talent, and for this pelting, men blas- 
phemed God. This power the apostles and dis- 
ciples used until men blasphemed God by persecut- 
ing them, and jBinally scattered them out, and the 
record says, ^^They went everywhere preaching the 
Word.^^ 

The angel told John to ^^Com^ hither, and I 
will show you the judgment of the great harlot 
that sits on many waters.^^ ^^He carried me in 
the Spirit into a wilderness^^ (an imfruitful spir- 
itual condition), for this is instructions of a spirit, 



AN EXKCRPT ON RKVKI.ATIONS. 157 

to spiritual people, and about spiritual conditions, 
^^And I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet-covered 
beast, having seven heads, and ten horns/^ Now 
there are but two kinds of spirits in the world, 
one good, the other evil, the good is symbolized 
by a woman, and is the Bride of Christ, or intelli- 
gent spirits, bearing fruits by the Word; the other 
is symbolized also by woman, and represents the 
natural intelligence of man, unrestrained by a 
God Spirit. Study her characteristics. This 
woman is arrayed in purple, and scarlet, and pre- 
cious stones. These are all symbols of the God- 
given faculties of man, and are all precious if 
properly used, but upon her forehead is a name 
written, ^^Mystery, Babylon, the great, the mother 
of harlots, and of the abominations of the earth.^^ 
The body is the beast, or burden-bearer of this un- 
taught, or natural intellect, and it is the evil 
spirit which is an abomination to God. John 
wondered at her, but the angel said, ^^I will tell 
you the mystery of the woman, and of the beast 
that carries her.^^ Study this symbol carefully. 
^^Here is the mind which hath wisdom,'^ or here 
is the meaning of this wisdom. 

^^The seven heads are seven mountans, on which 
she sits.^^ What are the bases of an evil spirit, or 
that upon which it rests or builds ? It is the five 
natural senses, hearing, seeing, feeling, tasting, 
smelling, and reason is the sixth. These, with 



158 THK OPKN PKARI.Y GATES. 

will power, are called seven kings, or rulers, and 
"They who dwell on the earth shall wonder at this; 
they whose names have not been written in the 
Lamb^s book of life, because the beast was and is 
notJ" The beast, or animal man was considered, 
and reckoned with by God under the Mosaic law, 
but is not, under this new law, or dispensation. 
"And the beast that was and is not is also an 
eighth, and is of the seven; and he goeth into per- 
perdition/^ The body which was reckoned, but 
now is not, is the eighth in the make-up of this 
woman, for it takes the body in the natural man 
to maintain, or preserve these powers of gaining 
knowledge, and exerting an influence by it; but 
the body must go into perdition or destruction. 
But, he "must continue for a little season/^ The 
five fallen rulers are the five natural senses. Rea- 
son, the sixth, remains, and our will power re- 
mains until absorbed by the will of God. The ten 
horns to this beast are the works of flesh, which 
war against the Spirit, for horns are an emiblem 
of fighting power, and it is written, "The flesh 
lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against 
the flesh/^ "ISTow the works of the flesh are these, 
fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, 
etc/^ "But they that are Christ^s have crucified 
the flesh with the passions, and lusts thereof.^^ 
These ten horns should war gainst the Lamh, "And 
the Lamb shall overcome them, for He is King of 



AM BXCKRPT ON REVELATIONS. 159 

Kings, and Lord of Lords, and they also shall over- 
come, who are with him, called, and chosen, and 
faithful/^ And he said, "The waters where the 
harlot sits, are peoples, and multitudes, and na- 
tions/^ So, this applies to all the unfaithful. 
Therefore, the people of God are commanded to 
^^Come out of her; that you have no fellowship 
with her, and that you receive not of her plagues.^^ 
"Therefore, in one day (that is the Gospel day), 
shall her plagues come, death, and mourning, and 
famine, and she shall be utterly burned with fire, 
for strong is the Lord who judged her.^^ 

"And a strong angel took up a millstone, and 
cast it into the sea, saying, thus^ with a mighty 
fall, shall Babylon, the great city, be cast down, 
and shall be found no more " 

So affliction shall not rise up a second time 
"with the evil-doers/^ "In her was found all 
the blood of saints, and of all that have been slain 
upon the earth/^ 

John, after seeing these things, or after under- 
staanding this judgment, fell down to worship 
the messenger, but he said, "See thou do it not, I 
am a fellow servant with thee and with thy breth- 
ren, who hold the testimony of Jesus; worship 
God for the testimony (or teaching), of Jesus is 
the Spirit of prophesy.'' This was the same Spir- 
it the prophets had. They taught the Word. 

"I saw heaven opened, and behold a white 



160 THK OPKN PKARI.Y GATES. 

horse, and on him sat a faithful, and true one, out 
of whose mouth proceeded a sharp sword, with 
which to smite the nations, and the heavenly ar- 
mies followed him upon white horses, clothed in 
fine, pure white linen, which are the righteous acts 
of saints. This leader's name is called ^^the 
Word of God.^' 

Beginning at the twentieth chapter is a resume 
of the teachings of the Scriptures from the begin- 
ning. "I saw a messenger coming down out of 
heaven, having the key of the abyss.'' This was 
having authority, or power, over the abyss. This 
term, abyss, means a primeval chaos, infinite 
space, a vast depth — ^hell, or the grave. And this 
angel ^^Bound Satan for a thousand years." This 
binding was a placing of restrictions on the evil, 
so that none might be deceived by it, and the thou- 
sand years represents a long period of time. So 
in this long time there were to be some who had 
judgment given to them, so that they might be 
able to rule over the evil, for "They lived and 
reigned a thousand years" with the Word, Then^ 
at the end of that time, or dispensation, 

"Satan was loosed for a little season." The 
Word to the patriarchs, and through Moses 'till 
the crucifixion was binding on those who lived 
under it, but Christ fulfilled that law, and took it 
out of the way; so the next binding was when the 
new law was sent forth from Jerusalem on Penta- 



AN EXCKRPT ON RKVBIyATIONS. 161 

cost, SO the rest of the dead did not live until the 

thousand years were fulfilled. That is, only the 

Jews and patriarchs, who had the Word of God 

as a guide, lived until the universal Grospel was 

proclaimed. Under the first teaching only those 

were raised up to a new life who were subjects of 
that law. Therefore, this was the first resur- 
rection. 

But, when Christ gave the new law, which is 
to exist forever, he bound Satan, or evil under 
this law, and evil will suffer torment imder this 
law, ^^day and night forever and ever.^^ This is in 
perfect harmony with all other Scriptures, because 
^^the earth abides forever,^^ and it was *^made for 
a habitation for man/^ therefore, man will con- 
tinue to live and multiply on the earth, and so long 
as there are men, there will be evil to punish, so 
the smoke of their torment will ascend continually 
forever; for some will be continually suffering as 
evil-doers. Then after evil was bound by the new 
law. 

John ^^saw a great white throne, and the heav- 
en, and earth fled away from the face of Him that 
sat on it. ^^This white throne was in contrast to 
the former rulings of the Word, the first was a 
partial law, that is, it only applied to one nation; 
but this new law is universal ; therefore, is perfect, 
and righteous. Before this white throne, "The 



162 THE OPEN PEARI.Y GATES. 

dead, both small and great, were judged, by the 
things which were written in the Books, according 
to their works/^ 

The second death is represented by the lake of 
fire, and all who are not approved by the books 
are cast into the lake of fire. Jude said, certain 
unfaithful ones were ''twice dead/' So the lake 
of fire is the casting off of the unfaithful, or those 
who have turned away from the faith. John then 
grows exultant over the new, and better, condi- 
tions. ^^I saw a new heaven, and new earth, for 
the first were passed away, and I saw the Holy 
city, new Jerusalem, coming from God out of heav- 
en.^^ The new teaching came from God, and out 
of, or away from the prophets, and Jewish heaven. 
Christ commenced to teach about this new way 
years before the old was done away with. Then 
we find where some of the apostles were keeping 
some of the Jewish customs long after the cruci- 
fixion. Thus, we can find where the new law com- 
menced, and also where the old was completed, 
but there was a lapping back, and forth, of the 
two, like the spliced ends of a rope. This explains 
how the new came out from the old, it was a gradu- 
al teaching, or instructing, out of the one, and 
into the other. You will remember in the Heb- 
rew letter this same idea is held forth, in these 
words, where the writer was speaking of the going 
out of the old covenant. He said, ^^That which 



AN EXCERPT ON REVELATIONS. 163 

is becoming old is nigh unto vanishing away/^ 
This was written some thirty or forty years after 
Pentacoest^ but it seems as though it had not en- 
tirely vanished at that time. 

"Behold, the tabernacle of God is with man, 
and he shall dwell with them, and they shall be 
His people; He shall wipe away all tears from 
their eyes, and death shall be no more.^^ The 
prophets foretold of this day of the Lord, when 
He "would dwell with His people, and wipe away 
all tears, and forgive their iniquities. 

"Behold, I make all things new " So Paul said 
about the new creations, "All are new.^^ Then he 
said, "Write, for these words are faithful and 
true,^^ and "They are come to pass.^^ What is it 
that had come to pass ? Why that all the mystery, 
or teaching, of God is complete, for he says, "I will 
give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of 
the water of life freely.^^ Then comes a contrast 
between the faithful and the unbelieving. "He 
that overcometh, shall inherit all these things.^^ 
But the fearful, and unbelieving, shall have their 
part in the second death. 

"Then one of the seven angels came to me, and 
said. 

Come hither, I will shew you the bride, the 
Lamb^s wife.^^ Notice what was shown John for 
a wife. "He shewed me the Holy city, Jerusa- 
lem, coming down out of heaven from God,^^ hav- 



164 THE OPEN PEARI.Y GATES. 

ing a high wall, and twelve gates, an angel at each 
gate, and named to correspond with the twelve 
tribes of Israel. The wall of this spiritual city 
had for its foundations, the twelve apostles of the 
Lamb. 

A measuring reed was given to John, and he 
was told to measure the city by this reed, which 
was according to the messenger/' These twelve 
gates are each to have one portion in entering this 
holy city, and each is represented as a pearl; each 
one, therefore, is precious to the Lord. ^^The Lord 
is the temple to this city.'^ The Lord is a good 
Spirit of intelligence, and man does not need the 
light of the sun to exercise the good thought pow- 
er, if he has the spirit of God in Him. "The na- 
tions shall walk in this lighf "No unclean 
thing shall go over it." No part of the fleshly, or 
corrupt man enters into, or constitutes any part of 
this holy city, but "only those whose names are 
written in the Lamb's book of life.'' This Lamb's 
book has no reference to the record kept by the 
animal man, or beast. 

Through this Holy city, a pure river of water of 
life flows on this side of the river (in this age, or 
dispensation), and on that side (in the former 
dispensation), the tree of life grows, and its fruits 
are love, joy, peace, long suffering, meekness, etc., 
etc. Then, where no specific rule is laid down as 
a guide, it is covered by this, "Whatsoever things 



AN EXCKRPT ON RKVBI.ATIONS. 165 

are true, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever 
things are right, and whatsoever is of good report, 
think on these things, and let the peace of God 
dwell in your heart/^ The leaves, or influence go- 
ing out from a life thus directed, will have a heal- 
ing tendency on the nations. The Lord will give 
such servants as these *^^Light, and they will reign 
forever/^ ^The God of the spirits of the proph- 
ets, sent His angel to shew unto His servants, the 
things which must shoHly come to pass/^ ^^Seal 
not up the words of the teachings of this book/' 
Why not seal this, if it pertains to things to hap- 
pen at some indefinite, and unstated time? That 
of itself would be a sealing, or confining the teach- 
ing, for the old prephesies were sealed books, be- 
cause the time had not yet comie for their fulfill- 
ment. But in this instance it is taught that ^The 
tim^ is at hand'' "^^Behold I come quickly, and 
my reward is with me, to render to every man as 
his wotTc is/' Therefore, he that is unrighteous 
under this dispensation, or teaching, this being 
his only and last opportunity, let him remain unu- 
righteous still, for ^^as a man thinks so is he.^' 
^^But he that is holy, let him be made holy still.^^ 
The man who takes advantage of this teaching, 
and builds up a good, holy spirit, will ^^Be made 
holy still.^^ This is the teaching of the Word all 
the way through. ^^As the tree falls there shall it 
be/^ 



166 THE OPKN PBARI.Y GATES 

Whatever thoughts a man has now in this char- 
acter-building age, these represent the man. Con- 
sequently, if man rejects this knowledge of God, 
and builds on the wisdom of mnn; as man^s wis- 
dom does not reach out beyond the temporal; 
therefore, if he falls while in this state, or condi- 
tion, '^there shall he be/^ 

^^He that is filthy, let him be filthy still/' The 
Word judges quickly, and the reward goes with 
it. After this life, wherein we are tested, as to 
how to use our opoprtunities; if we fail, there is 
no promise of a second chance. 

The Word is the ^^Alpha, and the Omega, the 
beginning, and the ending, the first, and the last.*' 
It says, ^^Blessed are they that wash their robes, 
that they may have the right to come to the tree 
of life, and enter in by the gates into the city.'' 
Only those who cleanse thier thoughts, have tht'^ 
pure wisdom of God, and pass through these spir- 
itual gates, and come into a fellowship with God, 
and with all the saints. For without, or outside 
of this condition, ^"^Are dogs, and sorcerers, and 
murderers, and every one that loves, and makes a 
lie.^^ Therefore, "The Spirit and the Bride say 
come.'' Come now. The Word, and the church 
say come into these conditions, which constitute 
the Holy city. "And he that is athirst let him 
come, and he that wills let him come, and take of 
the water of life freely." There are no after rais- 



AN KXCKRPT ON RKVEI<ATlONS. 167 

ing up of the body propositions here. But he 
that wills to take of these waters of life, let him 
come now and partake freely. 

If any man adds to the teaching of this Book, 
the plagues that are written herein will be added 
to him. So any man, and every man, who teaches 
that man cannot have access to this tree of life, in 
this present time, nor get into God^s holy city. 
Now, the plague, that he shall remain ^^unright- 
eous still,^^ is recorded against him, and God will 
take away His part from the tree of life and out 
of the holy city. 

These thoughts have been penned, not in any 
sectarian spirit, but with the hope, and purpose 
of accomplishing good, by calling attention to the 
many errors that have been ingrafted into people^s 
minds by traditional teachings. My desire is, that 
we may all come to a oneness in the knowledge of 
God, but this is impossible so long as the mortal 
part of man is considered as having a part in this 
city; because when man sonsiders the body as a 
part of the spiritual, he will try to keep a record 
of it, and plan a way to identify it in the here- 
after, and imagine a place for its comfort. But in 
the thought life, there is no male, nor female; there 
is no distinction only as to the ability to think, 
for all good thought force are one, in every state, 
condition or clime, because thought force is alike 
everywhere if guided into proper channels by the 
one true head, which is "The Word.^^ 



FINIAL. 

Believing as I do^ that it is possible to effect a 
oneness of God^s people by putting away all unau- 
thorized methods and living the Gospel as each 
one should, I make the request of every reader, who 
has a desire to help in consummating such a hap- 
py condition, and if they believe that it may be 
done along the lines of teaching, as suggested in 
these pages, that they help to disseminate these 
truths by telling about this Book to others when 
opportunity affords, and to the doctrines here 
taught, because if you believe these truths, you 
will surely talk about them to others. 

Also, note any very poor, who are not able to buy 
the book, but who would be interested enough to 
read and inform themselves along correct lines, send 
in a list of names, and post office address of each. It 
you are not able to give them a book, or do not 
feel disposed to do so, it is my purpose to aid hu- 
manity all I can, rather than to make a financial 
success of this work; therefore, I wish to dissemi- 
nate knowledge that will be uplifting to mankind. 
To get them out of error, make them free. Free 
from superstition. Free from traditions. Free 



FINIAI.. 169 

from any articles of faith formulated by man. 
Free from the priest-craft with which our coim- 
try is burdened, and to which we are in bondage. 

If in your heart you desire to help, do not lose 
an opportunity to place a book where it will be 
accepted, and read, we will co-operate with all who 
will do missionary work along this line, by selling 
them these books in clubs of ten or more, at a very 
great discount. Send in names with order. 

Christians pay out vast sums of money every 
year, to send missionaries to teach the heathen, 
and this is commendable, because it shows a sin- 
cerity of faith, by works, but many, of the teach- 
ings of these missionaries are erroneous, and an 
error does not make one free; on the contrary, it 
binds, and blinds the possessor of it. Therefore, 
if this notice should come to some one, or many, 
who are financially able to do mission work, will 
you not aid some with your means? Either buy, 
and distribute books to those who will read them, 
or if you prefer to, send money to me for this pur- 
pose. I expect to have large lists of names sent 
in of people not able to pay for books. If you 
wish, I will expend every dollar sent in for this 
purpose in distributing books to this class of peo- 
ple. One of the evidences of the coming of the 
Christ was that the poor had the gospel preached 
to them. I believe the age of greed, and selfish- 
ness has reached its zenith. Lef us set a good 



170 THE OPEN PEARI.Y GATES. 

example of unselfishness, and love, by helping 
others build up in these spiritual truths. Finan- 
cially, 1 am not able to go very far alone in this 
good work, but by having the fellowship of kin- 
dred spirits and willing hands I hope to accom- 
plish some good. And I would like for this to 
t'xtend over as large an area as possible, for this 
leav<en is going to work on the lump of humanity 
for its betterment. If you have bought a book, 
after you have read it to your satisfaction, lend it 
to a worthy neighbor. Keep the good message 
rolling, until the "knowledge of God shall cover 
the earth as waters cover the sea.^^ 

Remember the natural mind is no more the vine- 
ard of the Lord than the natural forest is the 
tillage of man. In each case the ground, or place 
for the seed sowing, must be cleared of that which 
w\\\ hinder the seed in its germinating, and the 
plant from maturing before any good results can 
'h> had. Therefore, if we can get error out of 
the mind, and sow the good word of truth in its 
stead, this will germinate, and bring forth fruits 
th-^t can be known, and appreciated now, even 
while we are tabernacling in the flesh. Then let^s 
not put away from us the time to commence do- 
ins: good, but do it now; and every good act done 
will inspire us to do another; until it will be our 
pleasure to live, and labor in the Master^s Vine- 
far d. 



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